Member Article

Generous Congleton Siemens staff donate more than £77,000 to good causes

More than £77,000 worth of funds and time has been donated to Cheshire good causes by workers from the Siemens plant in Congleton.

Over the last 12 months, Siemens workers have volunteered more than 2,200 hours to third sector groups, while 5.2 per cent of profits generated by the site were allocated to supporting good causes in the area.

A third of Siemens employees donated £15,000 to local charities in direct contributions through their payroll, and offered assistance to Cheshire youth charities Visyon and Friends for Leisure after linking up with third sector support organisation Cheshire Connect.

Siemens also sponsored Cheshire’s first science festival, Amazed by Science, and offered support to more than 2,200 students studying subjects related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Michaela Lawton-Wallace, Siemens’ business excellence champion, said: “Community engagement is a core part of our sustainability strategy and can create sustained tangible and intangible benefits that will be valuable to the local community, our company, and our customers.

“By investing in our society Siemens safeguards it’s future by taking seriously economic, social and environmental concerns.

“We dedicated over 2,200 hour of staff time - which is an incredible achievement.”

Siemens is one of a number of Cheshire businesses that has worked in partnership with Cheshire Connect over the last 12 months. Formerly known as Cheshire Skill Share, Cheshire Connect helps charity, faith and community groups access invaluable professional support from the businesses across the region.

Donna Okell, chief executive of Cheshire Connect, said: “Workers at Siemens have demonstrated how their support of the local community has brought significant benefits to their business.

“I look forward to working with Michaela as they develop their community engagement plans for the year ahead.”

The fundraising efforts of the workers were celebrated at a recent meeting for Siemens stakeholders, where plans for further support of the Congleton community were also discussed.

Congleton MP Fiona Bruce, who also attended the stakeholder meeting, said: “Meaningful collaboration between businesses, community organisations, and local government can produce some powerful results - as we have seen with Siemens.

“The focus on skills and the environment has led to tangible benefits for the community - what we need now is to spread to word and get more businesses working with Cheshire Connect to help strengthen our community further still.”

In addition to its third-sector support work, Siemens enhanced its environmental credentials by producing 27 per cent less in CO2 emissions over the last 12 months compared to five years ago.

Cheshire Connect would like to hear from other Cheshire businesses and voluntary and community organisations that are keen to work together to improve our local communities.

If you or your business are able to make a donation or can spare some of your time to help local charities whilst developing your own skills, please contact Cheshire Connect on: 01244 688436 or email donnaokell@cheshireconnect.org

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sam Harris .