82 volunteers, 164 young people and 7 employability events – Barclays’ Make a Difference campaign

Barclays and ELBA have worked together since 2003. Every year, during October and beyond, Barclays’ Make a Difference volunteering campaign sees thousands of employees around the world give their time and expertise to support local communities.

In east London alone, 82 Barclays employees supported 7 ELBA employability-focused events. Partnering with 6 schools, the sessions supported 164 young people to develop their aspirations and employability skills. A student from Y10, Lister School, who took part in one of the sessions, said “I learnt about my strengths and weaknesses and how to be more confident”.

Alongside Make a Difference, Barclays volunteers are active all year through, many engaged with ELBA activities. Over Christmas, ELBA was approached by Barclays Internal Audit team who were keen to deliver a festive get-together for local school children, giving them the opportunity to have some fun whilst benefiting from Barclays’ LifeSkills activities.

200 students from six local schools came together with Barclays volunteers and ELBA for an afternoon of bowling, milkshake and Christmas laughter at the O2. The atmosphere was electric! The fun-filled event offered students an opportunity to meet new friends, work as teams, find out more about the opportunities available in the world of work and network with Barclays colleagues.

All the students had an incredible time with smiles on their faces, we had feedback ‘this is the best day of my life’. For some, they were excited to travel to parts of London they hadn’t been to before, for others the event also allowed them to get on an underground train for the first time.