VOLUNTEERS’ WEEK: HOW WE’RE MAKING A POSITIVE IMPACT IN THE COMMUNITY

2026-06-04 15:20:40.0

At BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK, supporting our local communities is an important part of who we are. Volunteers’ Week is a chance to celebrate the colleagues across our business who are dedicating their time and expertise to causes making a real difference locally and beyond.

These activities also contribute towards BNP Paribas’ global 1MillionHours2Help programme, an initiative encouraging colleagues around the world to make a positive impact and support local communities through volunteering. Every hour contributed helps create positive impact and strengthens our connection with the communities around us.

Over the past year, colleagues from teams across our business have taken part in a wide range of volunteering opportunities, supporting charities and organisations focused on education, environmental sustainability, community wellbeing and digital inclusion.

As Volunteers’ Week is upon us, we’ve taken a moment to celebrate the volunteering achievements of our colleagues over the past year. Read more below...

Supporting literacy with the Children’s Book Project

Did you know that one in three disadvantaged children across the UK has fewer than ten books of their own at home, and one in ten has none at all?

The Children’s Book Project exists to tackle this issue: redistributing new and gently used books to children and families who may otherwise have limited access to them, helping to encourage reading for pleasure and improve book ownership across the UK.

So far, colleagues from many of our business departments have taken part in volunteering days with the charity, helping to sort and organise books ready for redistribution. To date, this includes our Marketing, Customer Propositions, Design Studio and Operations teams and later this year, our IT, Partnership and Motor teams will also take part.

Jodie Bromley, our Chief People Officer, says: “My team and I volunteered at the Children's Book Project last year. It was a really lovely day, connecting and reminiscing about our favourite books as children. It's a great day to get away from the laptop and do something completely different, knowing that you're doing something that will really benefit local children who otherwise may not have the opportunity to own their own book."

Protecting local green spaces with Canal & River Trust and CleanUpUK

Environmental sustainability continues to be an important focus across our volunteering activity. This year, we have committed to six volunteering days with Canal & River Trust, supporting projects that help protect and maintain local waterways and green spaces.

Colleagues across the business have been spending time tidying towpaths and clearing canal and river environments in the local area. Their efforts helped improve spaces enjoyed by local communities, walkers and wildlife alike.

We are also continuing our partnership with CleanUpUK alongside other BNP Paribas UK entities.

Last year’s initiative saw more than 100 colleagues take part in litter picking sessions across parks in the Solihull area, with colleagues collectively giving up half a day each to help create cleaner public spaces. Following the success of the partnership, we are proud to be working with CleanUpUK again this year.

Helping young people gain knowledge and be more aware of sustainability

Through our partnership with Teach First, our colleagues have been delivering lessons on A Sustainable World to local primary school students, helping young people explore how everyone can play their role and make a positive impact.

Meanwhile, some of our IT colleagues recently took part in Capgemini’s Tech4PositiveFutures challenge, an initiative designed to empower young adults aged 18 to 25 from lower socio-economic backgrounds through digital and environmental sustainability skills.

The programme is delivered in partnership with CodeYourFuture, a charity supporting people who face barriers to accessing digital training and employment opportunities. Participants are challenged to explore how technology and innovation can reduce the impact of climate change on local communities.

Previous winning ideas from the programme have included tools to support urban rewilding, accessible speech therapy technology for stroke survivors, and solar-powered fishing nets designed to reduce environmental harm.

The importance of upskilling young people is more prevalent than ever with the recent publication of a government-commissioned report which revealed nearly one million young people aged 16 to 24 in the United Kingdom are not in education, employment or training.

By equipping young people in our communities with skills for an ever-evolving digital world, we hope to inspire the future generation of workers, giving students the confidence and competence to enter the workforce.

Continuing to make a difference

Volunteers’ Week is a great opportunity to recognise the difference colleagues can make through giving their time to causes that matter to them. Across BNP Paribas Personal Finance UK, teams have continued supporting projects within local communities and building strong partnerships with organisations creating positive change.

As we continue supporting BNP Paribas’ 1MillionHours2Help initiative, we’re looking forward to seeing even more colleagues get involved in volunteering opportunities across the year ahead.

Interested in joining a company where giving back is central to the work we do? Click here to discover more about our career opportunities: Careers at BNP Paribas Personal Finance | Thinking about joining us?