The Cares Partnerships have proved immensely popular and effective in inspiring large scale employee volunteering to address some of our communities' most pressing issues; they currently have 80,000 volunteers nationally. Companies support local Cares partnerships and, in many cases, provide time for employees to volunteer during the working day. Volunteering opportunities are made available to staff via a mixture of brochures, notice boards, and an on-line extranet system.

Staff can volunteer singly or in teams to complete tasks ranging from using their professional skills to help with an IT problem, assisting in maths classes, dog walking for the elderly, delivering meals on wheels and mentoring homeless people. There are opportunities to suit all.  Some employees were already volunteering with local projects including providing assistance in Literacy Hours in local schools, reading with and assisting children who were struggling.

Through our affiliation with BiTC, we were approached in 2005 to become a member of Cares, attending their quarterly progress meetings and supporting further community projects. Initially co-ordinated by Jonathan Campbell, Bardon Hill Quarry Manager, we are now looking at assisting in Numeracy Hours and providing 10 work placements at Croft for vetted ex-offenders in order for them to improve their employment prospects.