This May marks International Personal Finance’s (IPF) sixth annual Volunteer and Inclusion Month. This exciting international effort brings colleagues together from 10 countries to take positive action in the communicates they serve and to support local causes through volunteering and fund raising.
Some of this year’s events will be closely linked to the Groups flagship global community programme – The Invisibles. This long-term social programme highlights the plight of underprivileged, marginalised and excluded members of society, and colleagues together with NGOs will play an important role in making the issue of invisibility visible among public and government decision-makers.
Improving the environment in our communities is also a key focus. Colleagues of our Provident home credit and IPF Digital divisions in Poland started Volunteer and Inclusion Month by planting 25,000 trees in the Drewnica Forest District near Warsaw. The Provi Run will also see colleagues and their families in different markets taking part in the annual 10k run to raise funds for a range of charities including the Gajusz Foundation – a hospice for children in Poland.
Community support and volunteering is integral to IPF’s purpose of building a better world through financial inclusion and we support colleagues to volunteer not only to help society but to improve teamwork, engagement and motivation. In 2022, the Group invested £1.1m in its communities and despite restrictions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic earlier in that year, more than 4,000 colleagues dedicated 15,500 volunteering hours in their communities, both in company and their own time.
