Helping for your tomorrow: International Day of Charity

A famous woman once said: “We know only too well that what we are doing is nothing more than a drop in the ocean. But if the drop were not there, the ocean would be missing something.” That famous woman was none other than Mother Teresa of Calcutta – arguably, one the world’s most charitable and selfless people. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her work aiding those facing poverty and extreme distress, and the International Day of Charity (5th September) marks the incredible work she carried out during her life.

What’s it all about?

International Day of Charity was officially declared by the United Nations General Assembly for the first time in 2012. It was established with the goal of mobilising not-for-profit organisations, stakeholders and people who are passionate about helping others to be able to better assist those in need through volunteering and raising awareness with the backing of a global movement.

The day itself aims to uplift those who are taking action against poverty and humanitarian crises and to raise awareness of the suffering that, unfortunately, many communities and individuals face across the globe. According to the United Nations, “Charity can alleviate the worst effects of humanitarian crises, supplement public services in health care, education, housing and child protection. It assists the advancement of culture, science, sports, and the protection of cultural and natural heritage. It also promotes the rights of the marginalised and underprivileged and spreads the message of humanity in conflict situations.”
 

We’re helping to End Youth Homelessness

We carry out regular fundraising activities for our charity partner, End Youth Homelessness (EYH). We share the charity’s vision to end youth homelessness in the UK, and we believe in empowering young people with the skills and confidence necessary to become successful and independent adults. The right job can truly transform a person’s life, and all the money we raise supports young people who have experienced some difficulty in getting back into education and work. This year, we have raised £250,000 for EYH, supported 10,000 hours of specialist coaching, and helped 190 young people secure employment or training.

Our newest project with EYH is a strategic partnership, aimed at helping disadvantaged young people secure jobs. Our experts will use their deep knowledge and experience to work with young people in the programme and will support and prepare them for the world of work. In providing this collaboration, we’ll also enable our customers with a more effective inclusive talent strategy. We’re committed to helping young people at risk of homelessness to secure good jobs with good pay to allow them to live sustainably, happily and fulfilled, and build independent futures.
 

Trees for Cities

In January 2022, we launched a new partnership with environmental charity Trees for Cities. This charity works at a national and international level to help improve lives by planting trees and enhancing green spaces in cities and towns. Mirroring the charity’s passion, we’re committed to working with local communities to cultivate lasting change in local neighbourhoods - whether it’s vitalising forgotten spaces, creating healthier environments, or connecting children with nature.

Our urban tree-planting initiative has seen us contribute £20,314 to projects in just six months, funding 2,902 trees throughout the UK. As well as empowering communities to look after green spaces, we’re also helping address some of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals including:

• Good health and wellbeing
• Sustainable cities and communities
• Responsible consumption and production
• Climate action
• Life on land
• Partnerships for the goals

So what can we do?

Here at Hays, we take our commitment to helping others very seriously. Each year we embark on a huge array of fundraising and volunteering activities. Part of our ethos is to support causes within local communities, using our recruitment expertise to help improve skills and employability; we offer support from a commercial perspective, ensuring ethical and responsibly business practices; and we look after our environment, working to safeguard our planet and fight against climate change. We’ve branded a huge pillar of our global efforts as Helping for your tomorrow – where we focus on employment inequity and take steps to combat it.

The Helping for your tomorrow programme was established to focus and align all our global charitable activities and good works so we can better support the communities and groups we work with on a daily basis to help create a more sustainable world of work not only for individuals, but for our planet, too. As part of our Helping for your tomorrow global framework, we encourage every Hays employee to take paid volunteering time annually to support causes aligned with our global purpose of creating opportunities and improving lives. We feel that leading by example is a great way to make steps towards positive change. As the world-leading specialist in recruitment and workforce solutions, we feel it is ’s our obligation to enact change for the better and with our dedicated support to fundraising and our charity partnerships, we’re doing our best to make a difference and will continue to do so.

Find out more or donate to End Youth Homelessness now.