At City of Bristol College, colleagues are supported not just in their professional growth, but in their personal wellbeing and community passions too. The college is proud to offer a wide range of employee benefits designed to enhance work-life balance as well as health and happiness – from wellbeing initiatives to career development opportunities and flexible working.
The Employee Benefits Booklet showcases the many ways in which the college invests in its people – including the innovative paid volunteering days. Every staff member is entitled to three days per year of paid volunteering leave, giving colleagues the chance to make a difference in a cause close to their heart whilst gaining new experiences and connections.
For Abby, a Marketing Officer at City of Bristol College, these volunteering days have provided an invaluable opportunity to combine her professional skills with her passion for supporting mental health. Abby uses her volunteering time to help blink mental health, a charity that attends festivals across the UK offering free talking therapy and a calming ‘chill-out tent’ for festival goers.
The ‘chill-out tent’ is a peaceful space filled with beanbags, weighted blankets and mindful activities such as colouring, puzzles and reflection cards; offering a welcome moment of calm away from the often chaotic festival atmosphere.
Abby manages blink’s social media channels, capturing photos and video footage during festival season in order to share the charity’s work online. She is also a wellbeing volunteer, encouraging people to visit the tent, have open conversations about mental health and access free talking therapy sessions.
Outside of festival season, Abby continues to contribute by helping with volunteer recruitment and offering her marketing and project management expertise.
Talking of her volunteer work, Abby commented: “blink is a charity who deliver a meaningful service that is life-changing to many service users. Plus, it’s a great opportunity for me to be in a festival environment and meet new likeminded people.”
“I am grateful that I can continue volunteering my time for the charity alongside working at City of Bristol College and be able to utilise three days of paid volunteering leave, along with my annual leave so that I can support blink during the busy summer period.”
City of Bristol College is proud to witness colleagues like Abby making such a difference in the wider community, by echoing the college’s values outside of the workplace.
The college offers all employees three days per year of paid volunteering leave. This helps colleagues to work closely with causes that mean a lot to them or support their local community; which has been proven to benefit wellbeing and result in a general positive impact.
Paid volunteering days are just one of a multitude of benefits of working at City of Bristol College. For more information, simply visit this link to read the Employee Benefits Booklet from the college.
