Corporate volunteering is a type of social engagement planned, organized and implemented by employees, and approved and encouraged by company management. Corporate volunteering is a type of social engagement where employees of a company spend one or more workdays volunteering to improve the community, and their employers treat those days as regular workdays with full pay for employees who took part. By encouraging corporate volunteering, companies show that they’re socially responsible and interested in learning about the community they operate in.
Unlikely as it sounds, there are businesses in BiH that support and implement corporate volunteering. One such company is dm drogerie markt, which encourages employees to spend one day every year volunteering for a cause of their own choosing. Less than a month ago, the Institute for Youth Development KULT launched efforts to support the promotion and development of this type of volunteering. We launched an online platform volontiraj.ba dedicated to matching organizations and businesses interested in corporate volunteering.
Ivana Radić is a dm employee in Jajce who organized a voluntary activity to clean the shores of Pliva lakes. She was joined by coworkers from Cazin, Bihać, Livno, Tomislavgrad and Bugojno. “There’s nothing better than helping someone, helping your community. Especially since Jajce is where I grew up. It’s just wonderful”, says Ivana, sharing her genuine joy at being able to organize this activity and inspiring her coworkers from other cities to help too.
Adnan Ratković, Head of Central Logistics at dm, is more than happy to talk about his experience with volunteering at the Pazarić Institute, painting rooms and spending time with their protégés. He says he corporate volunteering never fails to make him happy – a feeling he shares with his coworkers.
dm employees shared their opinions and experience with corporate volunteering in the video above. If you would like to implement a similar model of corporate volunteering in your company, you can register on the volontiraj.ba platform, where you’ll find projects that would welcome help from your employees!
