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Staff from a Cambridge company who devoted almost 1,000 hours to helping local causes under a company volunteer scheme have received two awards sponsored by Prince Charles.

The Cambridge University Press volunteers won an East of England Business in the Community Award after collectively donating 980 hours of volunteer work.

Chief Executive of Cambridge University Press, Stephen Bourne, also received the Prince’s Ambassador Award.

Staff volunteered under the University Press’s ‘seven hours’ scheme, which allows each member of staff to donate seven paid working hours per year to assisting projects in their community.

The 140 University Press volunteers have worked with Wildlife Trust projects, schools, refugee children, the Cambridge Science Festival and the Festival of Ideas. The diverse activities they have been involved in include:

• working on wildlife projects in and around Cambridge with the Wildlife Trust (the University Press is their first educational partner in this region)
• teaching English to unaccompanied refugee children in Cambridge supporting local schools with literacy, numeracy and other subjects
• acting as guides or leading children’s activities at the Science Festival and the Festival of Ideas.

The Ambassador Award was announced by Prince Charles over a video link. Citing Stephen’s establishing of the volunteers scheme, his commitment to reducing waste and using sustainable resources and his leadership of a 2008 China/Myanmar crisis appeal, the Prince said:

“Stephen has been a driving force in developing a strong community engagement programme” and he praised Stephen’s “commitment to seeing that things happen on the ground and his capacity to engage and inspire others.”

Commenting on the awards, Stephen said: “Although I am personally greatly honoured by this award, I am clear that the Prince of Wales is making a much broader statement about the extraordinary range of corporate involvement activities in which so many members of the Press are engaged, all round the world. It is no coincidence that Cambridge University Press was also selected for a volunteering award, against a very worthy group of competitors.”

The University Press’s Community and University Relations Manager, Heidi Mulvey, said: “We’re delighted to have won the volunteering award and it is a tribute to the staff from all parts of the business who have got involved, from directors to temporary support staff. They tell us that they find the experience incredibly rewarding and some, who have used their full quota of paid volunteer hours, continue with their activities in their own free time.”

The awards are given by ‘Business in the Community’ which encourages businesses to get involved in charity and community work and is one of The Prince’s Charities - a group of not-for-profit organisations headed up by The Prince of Wales.

The awards are given to business teams whose volunteering activities have achieved the greatest impact on their local community and set an example to others. The Ambassador Award is presented to an individual whose leadership and commitment to responsible business practice, and the actions they have taken personally, have created a positive impact both inside their company and on the wider community.

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

1. For more information and to arrange interviews with Community and University Relations Manager, Heidi Mulvey, contact the Press Office.

2. More on the work of the Cambridge University Press Volunteers:

Wildlife Trust

In 2007 the Press became the first Educational Partner of the Wildlife Trust in the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire area. In 2008 the Press used their Volunteer Hours programme to recruit staff to carry out environmental activities on WLT nature reserves (coppicing, fencing, hedgelaying, haystrewing) to encourage sustainability and diversity of plant and animal life. Staff from directors to temporary support staff volunteered from all parts of the business: editorial, sales and marketing, design and production, customer services, printing.

Email alerts are sent to staff, inviting people to sign up and the organizers are always overwhelmed by the large and immediate response they receive (most recently 20 positive responses within 5 minutes of the announcement going out). Staff receive full training from WLT reserves staff on how to carry out tasks, as well as on-the-spot talks about the wildlife.

Cambridge University Press staff meet with WLT staff three to four times a year to review projects, achievements and to set new objectives. These meetings have also helped shape the WLT’s volunteer programme for other local businesses.

Refugee groups

English Language Teaching staff volunteer their time to teach English to refugees at Fitzwilliam House, Cambridge. Formerly a children’s home, Fitzwilliam House is now set up to help unaccompanied refugee minors (age 14/15) prepare for living on their own. Learners usually attend mainstream schools, where they are not always receiving as much English support as they need.

Schools

Cambridge University Press has a long history of working with schools, offering free materials and staff expertise to various projects. The Press decided to formalise this with the help of the Volunteer Hours programme.

Some 20+ members of staff have now given their time in local schools, offering support with literacy, numeracy, science, IT and sport. Most recently staff volunteered to dig, plant and tend a ‘Peace Garden’, and organise a library, at Morley Primary School.

Volunteers meet with Headteachers, Departmental Heads and teachers to discuss the needs of the school, teachers and students, and to define activities. Feedback from schools and volunteers is gathered to help inform future activities.

Science Festival / Festival of Ideas

Staff volunteer to support the University’s festivals, by acting as guides at family events, or doing activities with children at the Science of Sport event.

The University Press has a presence in 140 countries and staff around the world take part in the scheme working within their own communities.