ELBA’s Volunteer of the Month for December 2018 is Julia Schoklitsch of Accenture. Julia went above and beyond over the course of last year to bring her expertise to a new consultancy project, launching a successful pilot and bringing critical skills to a community organisation in need of support. 

Julia has been working closely with ELBA to develop a consultancy style of volunteering for Accenture employees. This enables employees, including analysts, to utilise their time and consultancy expertise to support a community partner with a strategic challenge. Over the past year, Julia and ELBA have been working on the pilot with Evergreen Adventure Playground as the community partner. Evergreen’s challenge is income focused, exploring alternative income sources. Julia and the team of analysts she has recruited are working closely with Evergreen to understand the client and their challenge, providing workable solutions to take forward.

Julia has spent significant time with ELBA and colleagues working on the project to ensure its success, actively listening to ELBA expertise, community partner need and colleagues to find a good “fit”. She bring passion, compassion, consultancy and team work skills together to help make the partnership between Accenture and Evergreen a good one. 

We asked Julia to hear about her experiences.

1) Why did you volunteer?
It is my heart’s desire to see individuals use their skills to benefit the local other. We have been gifted to give!

2) What did you gain from your volunteering experience?
I was humbled to see how with very little, you can make a great impact if you continue to persevere.

3) Would you recommend volunteering to a colleague and if so, why?
100%. Not only do you support the local community through the charity, you grow on an individual level and get to practice and refine your skill.  And you get to do all of that with remarkable people who leave you feeling inspired.

A massive thank you to Julia for all of her fantastic contributions!