Encouraging volunteerism is a great way for companies to give back to their communities – especially when finding the money for cash donations is difficult. BuyerZone has been volunteering at the Greater Boston Food Bank for the last 9 years. It’s not a huge commitment: we take most of our staff, usually 40 or 50 people, for a half day sorting and packaging donated food that will then be distributed to food banks around the area.

Our big surprise this year was GBFB’s sparkling new building. We saw it being built when we went last year, and wow – is it an improvement over their old facility! More info and tips on getting started with corporate volunteering after the jump.

Here’s what we were doing: sorting food, beverages, and other household goods donated by local supermarkets and drug stores into specific categories like protiens, juice, or canned foods.

While we were there, I took the opportunity to talk to Amy Cooper-Ayles, Director of Volunteers at the Food Bank, about some of the reasons companies choose to volunteer. She pointed out some key benefits that can appeal to even the most pragmatic businesses:

• Group events help you do valuable teambuilding while helping the community. “You could do a ropes course, or sit down and talk about teambuilding,” says Cooper-Ayles, and while those can be effective, “you could also work together to help tackle a social problem.”
• Local volunteering can boost employee morale. “People find it fascinating to sort tomatoes,” reports Cooper-Alyes, and while I personally might not use the word “fascinating,” the work does give you sense of satisfaction. In addition, the work allows the receptionist and the CEO to work side-by-side, creating a good sense of community within your team.
• It’s a great way to demonstrate community involvement. Building community relationships is important to many companies – it shows respect, helps with the corporate image, and can even help with recruiting.

So you want to get started with corporate volunteering? Cooper-Ayles suggests that you start by having one person at your company be in charge of coordinating your volunteer efforts. For smaller companies, that can be part of an existing HR or office management role; larger companies sometimes hire a dedicated staffer.

You may want to choose a charity that’s related to your industry, but it’s not necessary. The GBFB reports that they regularly get volunteers from major supermarket chains in the area – but also that their mission has such broad appeal that it’s easy for anyone to get involved. It’s worthwhile to look locally: you might be surprised what charitable organizations are in your immediate area and could use your help.

Also, be smart about choosing when to volunteer. Cooper-Ayles confirms what many larger charities report – the time between Thanksgiving and New Year’s is often overcrowded with volunteers, especially at charities like homeless shelters and soup kitchens. Thanksgiving slots in particular fill up months and months in advance.

You can also vary your approach: instead of taking the whole team at once, you can encourage individual volunteers by offering an additional day or two off for charitable activities. You miss out on the teambuilding benefits, but you still prove to employees that you place a value on giving back to the community.

Here’s the BZ crew after a hard morning’s work. (I’m in the extreme lower right.)