Emma’s volunteering experience with The BIG Alliance
Name: Emma Blaney
Company and role:
Euromonitor, Global HR and CSR Director
BIG Alliance programmes: Leaders in Partnership, Mentoring Works - Samuel Rhodes, Team Challenges, Time to Talk workshops
Emma Blaney is Global HR and CSR Director at Euromonitor International. Emma has taken part in multiple volunteering programmes and projects with BIG Alliance using different skills to help local community organisations.
One of the programmes Emma took part in was our coaching programme Leaders In Partnership. She was attracted to this opportunity as it allowed her community partner to get support not only from Emma but also her wider network. It was exciting for her to learn from the coachee, who himself was so inspirational, whilst coaching him through his organisational challenges.
Another programme Emma took part in was Mentoring Works at Samuel Rhodes Secondary School. Samuel Rhodes programme is a tailored mentoring programme to support young people with special educational needs, with their educational engagement. The programme sees facilitation of informed decision making about the pupils’ future pathways, and ultimately guiding them towards successful transitions into the workforce or further education. Seeing how the confidence of the young people improved over the program was a particularly impactful experience on Emma. She witnessed the pupils’ growth from week one, when a number of them were too nervous to talk, through to the final presentations when they were so confident and simply glowing with happiness. The programme and pleasure of the experience by the students was matched, if not surpassed by the satisfaction felt by Emma and her colleagues. It was wonderful for them to introduce the amazing young people to the world of work, in a way they would never have access to normally.
She also took part in various Team Challenges which further developed her team through team bonding activities. These were great opportunities for the team to get out of the office, spend time with each other while supporting the local community.
Reflecting on her own volunteering experiences, Emma said that volunteers benefit from these experiences just as much as the community partners they support.
“Making a difference really engages you and makes you want to be involved more.”
Are you interested in volunteering with BIG Alliance through your company? If so, contact us at info@thebigalliance.org.uk