More and more Spanish companies are taking initiatives to create volunteer projects and are supported by their employees.

More and more Spanish companies are taking initiatives to create volunteer projects and are supported by their employees.

One in three Spaniards admits that although they are not a volunteer in any cause or project, they would like to participate in initiatives to help others. This is data extracted from the 2018 voluntary action report, which shows that there are 2.5 million volunteers in Spain. 

In Spain, for example, a fifth of society admits to donating money to NGOs, and 14% cooperate as a partner of the organization. These are the two most common and convenient ways to collaborate, but what is really effective is to spend time and get involved in the cause by participating in volunteer activities. In short, be an active part of projects and learn first-hand what the reality of people in need of help looks like. Because volunteering involves much more than a financial contribution.

As for the areas of activity, they relate to the areas of childhood and youth, as well as to the elderly or people with disabilities, where voluntary action is most concentrated. In addition, in half of the cases, corporate volunteer programs implemented by companies are related to their areas of activity.

Some companies organize events to educate on sustainability issues. Some employees of the company conduct seminars for thousands of school children to learn concepts such as climate change or hunger. For example, ACCIONA has organized training sessions of this kind for seven years in more than twenty countries.

More than 35% of employees choose to invest their free time in this altruistic activity. In addition, another notable fact is that despite the fact that 50% of companies allow them to volunteer during working hours, more than 35% of employees decide to invest their free time in performing this altruistic activity, even going so far as to allocate part of their week off to participate in volunteer programs.

For example, the case of volunteers acciona.org. This initiative was born a decade ago with the goal of providing basic services, such as energy, water and infrastructure, in disadvantaged areas of Peru, Mexico and Panama. About 200 ACCIONA corporate volunteers have dedicated their time, effort and knowledge to fighting poverty in isolated rural areas of these countries.

The altruistic work of these people has had a significant impact on the communities served. In these areas, in 2018 alone, more than 12,000 low-income households were able to access electricity at an affordable price.

Source: https://planetainteligente.elmundo.es/2019//retos-y-soluciones/radiografia-del-voluntariado-corporativo-en-espana.html

This year, the National Volunteer Network is implementing the project "Study of positive practices in the development of corporate volunteerism and holding a conference" under the grant Of the NAO "center for support of civil initiatives".