Cooper Parry isn’t your average accountancy firm. They’re committed to making life count. Recently Cooper Parry launched a firm-wide annual volunteering day where 247 employees signed up to take part.
Over two-thirds of the company workforce put down their tools and took action to help local charities and communities on one specific day. Cooper Parry operates a ‘work from anywhere, anytime, forever’ policy, which meant the support for charities and communities was spread across the Midlands.
In partnership with onHand, the initiative resulted in 1286 hours of volunteering being completed in one single day. This alone equates to 53 days of impact. Cooper Parry set an impressive goal of pledging 365 days worth of volunteering each year. They’ve smashed that target through a combination of ongoing volunteering and the focused volunteering day.
Through the onHand platform, employees had access to a range of ‘missions’. They could choose the causes that mattered the most to them. Many opted to team up for group volunteering activities with local charities. They helped with sustainability focussed tasks or got involved with their communities, such as helping the elderly.
Some of the Cooper Parry team took themselves to Stonebridge City Farm for their volunteering day, an urban farm in the heart of Nottingham. Stonebridge provides volunteering opportunities for people with learning disabilities and mental health struggles; volunteers spent the day outside, working hard on the farm and gardens.
Others visited Burton Soup Kitchen, taking on tasks like serving food and drink, washing dishes, handing out toiletries, and cleaning the building. Burton Soup Kitchen supports homeless and vulnerable people in the local Burton-on-Trent community.
The Stonebridge City Farm group weren’t the only ones hard at work outside; 33 members of the team spent the day in the Parklands Infant & Nursery School garden, helping maintain their Garden of Dreams and Wonders. Whether clearing weeds, building paths, cutting down trees, or building leaf stores, the group has helped create a fantastic space for the children to enjoy nature.
Acorns Children’s Hospice is a charity that provides palliative care to children and their families with limited life expectancies; Cooper Parry employees spent the day helping out in one of their shops and were even awarded Star Volunteer Certificates for all of their hard work.
In addition to creating a huge community impact, the initiative helped bring teams together to connect over doing good. Ade Cheatham, CEO at Cooper Parry, said:
“Giving back to our local communities and the flexibility to fit your work around your life are two key cornerstones of our culture here at Cooper Parry. The onHand app marries the two together beautifully, giving our people the chance to make a massive difference to others’ lives, without sacrificing any commitments they have in their own. Add to that the wellbeing benefits that come from helping others, and this partnership quickly becomes a no-brainer.”
Sanjay Lobo, CEO at onHand adds, “It’s wonderful to see Cooper Parry so committed to making an impact in their local communities. We’re huge advocates of setting time aside for impact hours or afternoons but it’s great to see the organisation go one step further and the results speak for themselves. Not only does this hugely benefit local charities but helps reward individual employees with feeling great and knowing that they work for an organisation that really cares.”
