Volunteering with schools is a win-win

A privileged position

For me, volunteering is about more than simply wanting to do something outside of your day job. I got involved with 5MF because social mobility is important to me. I went to a state school in south-east London, and I didn’t have anyone to talk to about building a career like the one I have. Then, I didn’t even know how to pronounce Deloitte!  

When I joined the firm five years ago, it felt like I was in a privileged position. And I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be great to use that position to help others?’ So, I volunteer as a relationship manager for the St Paul’s Way Trust in East London, which is one of our 29 partner schools.

Fulfilling potential

We raise aspirations and encourage students to fulfil their potential through things like CV workshops, career days and soft skills sessions, tackling topics such as gender stereotypes. We also help students think about what they want to do once they leave school, and make sure they know about opportunities like our BrightStart apprenticeships.

The more I got involved, the more I wanted to do. Now, I don’t just run activities, I get to steer on the strategy and management side of things, too.

I remember a session we ran with a group of boys at the school. It was about gender stereotypes. It was amazing because you could tell the students had never had the chance to talk in a structured way about issues like toxic masculinity and to hear that it’s okay for men to cry.  

The session featured audio clips of men talking about their own lives – one, for example, was a stay at home husband – and the boys were really engaged. Being involved in projects like that has been so rewarding.

The client comes first

Volunteering has definitely helped me in my career. Working with the school has allowed me to develop my stakeholder management skills as planning sessions with the headteacher are just like client planning sessions. And I’ve had to think about what the school needs from us, rather than what we have to offer – even in a situation like this, you always start with the client.

Volunteering motivates me. It makes me feel fulfilled and invested.

I’d recommend it to anyone – by putting yourself in other people’s shoes you can help your community and inspire the next generation. You just need to find the volunteering activity that resonates with you.

Find out more

Through 5MF, we’re enabling Teach First to create more opportunities for children from disadvantaged backgrounds to succeed and thrive. You can read other stories celebrating our 15^th anniversary by visiting our Responsible Business blog.