Housewares Business-to-business magazine for housewares retailers and their suppliers
John Lewis Partnership (JLP) staff have donated over 24,500 hours in the last year through the retailer’s Golden Jubilee Trust long-term volunteering programme – equivalent to 3,293 working days, and a record number of hours since the programme launched 19 years ago.
JLP owns and operates department store group John Lewis & Partners and supermarket chain Waitrose & Partners. All JLP employees (or ‘Partners’) have the opportunity to volunteer for up to six months at a charity of their choice while remaining on full pay and benefits.
More than 50 UK charities have received a helping hand from 57 JLP volunteers, ranging from national charities such as Samaritans and Alzheimer’s Society to local causes such as Leeds Women’s Aid and St Peter’s Hospice in Bristol.
The Trust was set up in 2000 as a registered charity to celebrate JLP’s golden jubilee. Over 362,000 hours of Partners’ time has been awarded to more than 850 charities through the programme since its launch.
In addition to the Trust secondments, Partners are supported to volunteer throughout the year. Last year, staff at JLP’s head office in London volunteered nearly 4,000 additional hours to support local causes.
This year, between May 19 and June 8, the company is also running a new ‘Partners in the Community’ initiative, to encourage more Partners to get involved in volunteering in their communities. Partners across all areas of the business will have an opportunity to take time out of their daily roles to volunteer their skills, experience and time to charity partners or local causes in their area.
JLP director of personnel Tracey Killen, who is chair of trustees of the Golden Jubilee Trust, said: “Volunteering benefits individual Partners and the charities they support, as well as our wider business. Our success depends on the communities where we operate thriving, and our ongoing commitment to contribute to community wellbeing is enshrined in our constitution. We are very proud of how much has been achieved through our unique Golden Jubilee Trust programme and hope that many more Partners will get involved in volunteering through our ‘Partners in the Community’ initiative.”
