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- Sustainability
- Our communities
Taking our Stewardship value seriously means acting with a social conscience whilst also considering social, environmental and ethical matters. We were proactive in finding ways to positively impact our local communities and through volunteering, sponsorships and fundraising, we supported our national and local partnerships through a variety of events and initiatives.
In 2023, a wide range of charities and community-focused organisations benefitted by over £288,000 through donations, fundraising, fund-matching, our Good Causes Fund and Pennies from Heaven initiative.
Our colleagues are encouraged to use their annual volunteering time (14 hours) to make a difference for a cause close to their hearts.
Through fund raising and volunteering, our employees supported 149 community partners in 2023, spreading positivity across a wide range of organisations by doing more things to help more people rather than having one narrow area of focus.
Depaul is one of the largest youth homelessness charities in the UK, supporting around 5,000 young people every year who are experiencing or are at risk of homelessness. They deliver activity programmes that equip and empower young people to manage mental health problems, build healthy relationships and access education, employment and training. In 2023, Depaul benefitted by £82,985 thanks to our employees focus on fund raising.
Demelza Hospice Care for Children (supported by Kent Reliance through our Children’s Savings Accounts) provides clinical care, therapies, specialised activities and practical support across Kent, South East London and East Sussex. They benefited by £74,628 through donations linked to our children’s savings account and other employee fundraising initiatives.
XL@Football Academy is a female football academy based in Kent with the mission to develop young female footballers and provide a pathway into the professional game, delivering the same level of training, coaching and support as male teams receive.
Coventry Rugby Foundation in the West Midlands is a key partner with the Group supporting their Project:500 camps held during school holidays, where disadvantaged children attend a 3-day event to play sports and learn about nutrition and wellness. At the end of the camp, they are provided with enough fresh food and vegetables to feed their families for a week during the school holidays. The Group is also the lead sponsor for their Rugby & Reading programme, exercising both body and mind for primary school children across the region.
Wolves Play Cafe in Wolverhampton is a community organisation delivering ‘stay and play’ sessions to children under 7, and has been supported by the Group with donations to pay for new uniforms, provide safeguarding training and purchasing vital online technology. In addition, kitchen furniture and a range of volunteers have helped transform their gardens and allotments for the use of their service users.
The Haven, also in Wolverhampton, supports women and dependent children who are vulnerable to domestic violence, homelessness and abuse, providing them with practical and emotional support. The Group provides support through fund raising and volunteering helping to make the accommodation a homely place to live.
OSB India operates to India’s mandated requirements in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility.
Whilst the legislation requires companies to spend 2% of their net profit on social development, OSB India has doubled that and delivered support to vulnerable people and causes in their local communities in 2023.
Our OSB India teams have helped provide education to orphanages and government schools, and healthcare equipment to hospitals in economically disadvantaged communities.
We use sponsorship, delivered through our Kent Reliance and Charter Savings Bank brands, to connect with local communities, and support those who are underserved, underprivileged and overlooked in society.
We think of these sponsorships as partnerships where we work together to bring the most value to our communities, our colleagues who volunteer their time, and to our customers who recognise the value in saving or borrowing with an ethical company.
In 2023, we doubled the amount of volunteering hours available to our employees, which was utilised by a large section of the Group, with 4,998 volunteer hours logged across the Group, supporting 64 organisations.
Our Good Causes Fund welcomes applications from our employees for a charity, a cause, or local community initiative to receive a donation of up to £500. The Fund supported many local community organisations through donations totalling £40,250.
We match all money raised by our employees on a pound for pound basis (up to a maximum of £1,000) for events that support Depaul, our corporate charity partner, and match up to £250 per event per individual that raises funds for other UK charities and good causes. The Group matched employee fund raising with donations totalling £39,454.
Read more about how we helped our communities prosper in 2023.