British Airways and BT hosted first ever Give & Gain community sports day in Manchester

MANCHESTER, 2016-May-23 — /Travel PR News/ — Almost 200 Manchester primary schoolchildren took part in the first ever Give & Gain community sports day in the city this week supported by British Airways and BT.

The Factory Youth Zone, in Harpurhey, was the venue for the skills building event on Give & Gain Day, on May 18, the UK’s national day of employee volunteering.

Fifty volunteers from the British Airways and BT workforces in Manchester supported the Give & Gain initiative organised by charity Business in the Community to celebrate and raise awareness of the incredible power of employee volunteering.

This week will see thousands of people from hundreds of companies across the globe spend a working day volunteering for good causes in their local community.

Pupils from four local primary schools, Manchester Communication Academy, Mount Carmel RC Primary, Oasis Academy Harpur Mount and Pike Fold Community Primary School, took part in the fun-filled games run by British Airways and BT volunteers.

The activities were designed to develop keys skills such as confidence, teamwork, communication and problem-solving.

The volunteers spent the day encouraging, mentoring and supporting the youngsters as they completed a series of physical and mental challenges with the emphasis on fun.

Carmel Khan, British Airways volunteer programme manager, who started the concept of the British Airways and BT Community Games Day three years ago, said: “BT was my first choice to collaborate with, given we were already working closely on many levels.

“The joint venture was a great fit with the British Airways’ Volunteer Programme focus on Youth, Development and Education. I’m delighted we could bring it to Manchester for the first time.

“My aim was to create an opportunity that would give children the chance to develop their social skills and enhance their confidence whilst also providing volunteers with the opportunity to develop transferrable skills both into their professional and personal lives whilst supporting the community.

She added: “I knew that working together we had a greater chance of connecting with communities and generating a reach as far and wide across the globe. Now, three years on, I am thrilled to see the venture has gone from strength to strength with this being our biggest year yet.

“We are hosting events in 10 locations across the globe, working with several charities and many schools, engaging more than 500 volunteers and 1500 children. The development opportunities and positive effect on wellbeing for all involved makes this by far the most popular volunteer opportunity amongst our colleagues.”

Simon Benham, BT’s volunteering delivery manager, said: “We strongly believe that volunteering is good for our people and strengthens our business, as well as benefitting the hundreds of charities and local communities they support.

“This event is a fantastic opportunity for the children to learn some vital life skills in a fun and laid back environment.

“I hope they got as much out of the day as I know our volunteers did.”

ENDS

Notes to editors:

About British Airways:
British Airways is one of the world’s leading global premium airlines and the largest international carrier in the UK serving almost 40 million customers a year, travelling to over 180 destinations in more than 70 different countries worldwide.

Since 2013 the Volunteer Programme has seen over 4,500 colleagues volunteer, donating 40,000 volunteer hours with an investment of over £850,000 in the local communities.

As part of colleague development, The British Airways Volunteer Programme provides colleagues with the opportunity to volunteer at projects of their choice, sharing their skills, experience and knowledge whilst having a sustained and positive impact on the communities surrounding our operations across the globe.

For more information go to www.ba.com

About BT:
BT offers all employees up to three days a year to volunteer for initiatives as part of the company’s Purposeful Business Programme. Employees can take part in individual or team volunteering opportunities organised by BT including volunteering at the Patron’s Lunch or supporting tech literacy in schools via the Barefoot programme. These are just some of the opportunities that allow BT people to share their skills. BT also gives employees the opportunity to volunteer for activities, about which they are personally passionate. During 2015-16 BT people gave over 45,000 days to local communities and globally over 24,000 BT people have volunteered their time.

BT’s purpose is to use the power of communications to make a better world. It is one of the world’s leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in 180 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband, TV and internet products and services; and converged fixed-mobile products and services.  With effect from 1 April 2016, the group has been reorganised and the customer-facing lines of business are now:  Global Services, Business and Public Sector, Consumer, EE, Wholesale and Ventures, and Openreach.

For the year ended 31 March 2016, BT Group’s reported revenue was £19,042m with reported profit before taxation of £3,029m.

British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.

For more information, visit www.btplc.com

 

Contact Details:

For more information please contact press.office@ba.com

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