Northgate Answers Local Primary School's DIY SOS
23 November 2008
Northgate Information Solutions signals its commitment to continued community involvement.A team from Northgate Information Solutions (Northgate) swapped their PCs for paintbrushes and rollers to help transform a classroom for local primary school, St. Mary’s Star of the Sea. Earlier this month, a group of volunteers from Northgate visited the school on Belfast’s Shore Road as part of Business in the Community’s Cares Campaign that promotes employee volunteering in the community.
Having signed the Business in the Community charter; designed to help companies engage in responsible business practice, Northgate has given its commitment to become more involved with the local community.
The benefits of joining Business in the Community are far reaching – not only do local communities gain access to a range of skills and resources not previously available but companies also benefit from the opportunity to address social issues in disadvantaged communities.
Commenting on Northgate’s participation, Eleanor Lee, Marketing Manager with Northgate said, “We have always been committed to the local community and in fact each of our 3500 UK employees has the opportunity to take time away from the office to participate in community-based activities. Becoming members of Business in the Community and signing up to its charter has added real focus to our corporate social responsibility plan. We are very much dedicated to participating fully with the local community and will work to utilise our employee skill base in ways that can add real benefit and value to the community we work in. This initial campaign is by no means the last we will work on.”
“The next stage for our company is participating in Business in the Community’s award winning Time to read and Time to compute, mentoring programmes. Our employees will individually assist eighteen 8-11 year olds from three schools with literacy or ICT skills, providing support to the teaching staff but also impacting positively on the child’s overall confidence and abilities.”
Business in the Community Director Martin Howell commented, "In the past, employers might have organised teambuilding days which may, for example, have simply been leisure activities.
“More and more employers now look for challenges with added value that help develop people while leaving lasting impacts on the community.
“My congratulations to all those atNorthgate Information Solutions. The company has shown real leadership and commitment to developing staff while making a positive community impact.”
