How volunteering will lift your firms performance

There is increasing evidence to suggest how good skilled volunteering can be for the volunteer and the recipient organisation.

Additionally our feedback has shown a big benefit to organisations that send volunteers to carry out skilled volunteering as part of their CSR initiative.  The best example to date is a team of skilled volunteers who carried out a project with RSPCA.  The team were from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (part of GORS - The Government Operations Research Service).  You can read about their experience here

The article below from Cranfield Trust explains further how volunteering can lift you firms performance:

http://cranfieldtrust.org/article/2015/jun/24/how-volunteering-will-lift-your-firms-performance

If you work for an organisation that has operational researchers/analytical staff then you could benefit from signing up to Pro Bono O.R.

For other more general skilled volunteering opportunities please visit:
Career Volunteer
Cranfield Trust
Reach Skills

A few good reasons to volunteer

I came across a few articles today that promote volunteering, not only because it can contribute to 'the greater good' but because it can also be good for you!

This first article claims that volunteering can boost physical and mental health - so much so that it recommends that doctors should encourage patients to volunteer.

http://www.amednews.com/article/20120117/health/301179996/8/

This second article says 'Research has found that having wide-ranging interests outside of work - particularly volunteering - can help improve your productivity and wellbeing.'- Josephine Fairley 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/womens-business/11220598/Work-Monday-blues-Theres-no-better-time-to-start-an-extra-curricular-activity.html

Lastly this article encourages us to take our skills Pro Bono (exactly what our Pro Bono O.R. volunteers are doing)

http://createathon.org/take-your-skills-pro-pro-bono-that-is/

If you didn't already think volunteering was a great idea then maybe these articles have convinced you.  There are a number of ways to get involved in volunteering; if you have O.R./analytical skills why not sign up to Pro Bono O.R.

Other useful links:

Career volunteer (recruits trustees and skilled volunteers): http://www.careervolunteer.co.uk/

Reach Skills (skilled volunteering charity): http://www.reachskills.org.uk/

Cranfield Trust (providing free business skills): http://cranfieldtrust.org/

Cranfield Trusts joins the debate: 'Are there too many charities?'

Interesting article from Amanda Tincknell, CEO of Cranfield Trust http://cranfieldtrust.org/article/2014/jul/1/are-there-too-many-charities