TONY MARTIN is a man who makes things happen – he was the person who organised the two days’ volunteering for myself and Robert Buckland.

This pocket dynamo who is Zurich’s volunteer manager for the UK, and based in Swindon, has provided the springboard for many companies in the town to get involved with volunteering.

Looking on at our handiwork at the Swindon Scrapstore, Tony remarked: “I can’t believe the difference in a few hours. “This is exactly the kind of thing we can do. This is a brilliant example of team building. It is not the only thing we get involved with through Involve Swindon since we are encouraging employees to give their skills as well. But this kind of thing can make a difference.”

Involve Swindon started six years ago through Tony, the Volunteer Centre and the Charities Information Bureau. They wanted to find out which companies in Swindon were encouraging staff to get involved with volunteering projects.

“Unfortunately, there were little odds and sods being done but not a lot. So I invited the key people who had said they were doing a little bit or who were interested to sit round a table to see if they could work together.”

Tony had seen this bringing together of companies to support volunteer projects in their community work successfully in London.

Now, Swindon is the model of good practice and in the past two years Involve Swindon has really come to life. They have 20 active Swindon employers who give their staff time to engage in the community.

“David Cameron has been coming out with this saying about Big Society, but I think we have been living Big Society through Involve Swindon,” added Tony, whose full-time job is to develop and encourage Zurich’s 3,000 staff within Swindon, Cheltenham and Cardiff to volunteer their time and skills.

Last year, more than 600 hours were volunteered through Involve Swindon, and there are probably more hours on top of that which Tony and his team are unaware of.

“That is pretty damn impressive. It takes five years to build a culture of giving within any company and for companies like Motorola, Bank of NYM and Intel they are on a journey.

“But it will take another two or three years for it to cement it so that it is a way they do business. “Undeniably, because of a little bit of help from Involve Swindon, they have been able to fast track employee volunteering into their companies.”

In the good years, companies could spare staff to take time off to volunteer, but with the crunch on, surely it is more difficult for the corporates to get involved? Not at all, according to Tony whose attitude to life is always glass half full.

Of course companies downsize, but with that you have new teams and there is a need to build team spirit. Community engagement is one way of achieving that, argued Tony.

He believes where once companies might spend several thousands of pounds of break-out days paintballing, golfing or building a raft, their energies might be more usefully targeted towards team build challenges, such as decorating or gardening on specific projects. There is also the Skills Bank, where firms use their staff’s skills to help charities develop.

“It can be a couple of hours, to a day over a couple of months,” explained Tony.

“The trick is to link it to staff’s personal development because if you can do that there is a business benefit as well.

“A staff member can go out to develop their skills in a totally different environment and straight away there is a building of self-esteem and confidence believing ‘I am quite good at what I do’. That then goes back into the business and then you have a more motivated workforce.”

To find out more about Involve Swindon contact: www.involveswindon.co.uk

STEP UP THE JOB LADDER

WITH higher unemployment and school leavers unable to find a job, more people in Swindon are turning to volunteering to help them get onto the job ladder.

Sue Dunmore, who is manager of the Volunteer Centre Swindon in John Street, reckoned that many people looked upon volunteering as CV-building.

“In the last quarter, we had 300 new enquiries about volunteering,” explained Sue. “Five years ago, things were slightly different. We were getting enquiries from people who had more time on their hands who wanted to get involved in volunteering – people coming up to retirement, women working part-time.

“Now we are getting far more enquiries from those aged between 16 and 25 – about 20 per cent.

“Younger people are enquiring more to get the skills to take into work and to build on their CV. “Many youngsters are taking a very positive attitude, getting their qualifications at college and also gaining the experience which will stand them in good stead.”

Volunteer Centre Swindon, which began life in 1999, was formerly the Swindon and District Volunteer Bureau, but changed its name in 2005.

The centre’s purpose is to match individuals and groups interested in volunteering with opportunities in the local community. It can put people in touch with 250 charities, projects and businesses.

“Swindon has already got a Big Society and it is bigger than people initially think,” she added.

“Without the voluntary sector, Swindon would not be joined up and we would not have the same sort of society without the value which volunteers give.”

A drop-in session is available between 11am and 3pm, Monday to Friday, at the town centre office. For appointments outside these times email info@swindon volunteers.org.uk For more information log onto www.swindonvolunteers.org.uk