The "Companies for Munich" network holds first joint Day of Action for disadvantaged families in Munich

• Around a hundred people in action on June 9: all volunteers from fifteen companies based in Munich and the wider area
• Free trainings on offer, child care included, at four of Munich's community outreach offices and the Münchner Kindl-Heim child and youth support center
• New studies demonstrate growing importance of corporate volunteering in Germany

June 9, 2011 is to be the first joint Day of Action called by the "Companies for Munich" network supported by socially committed companies based in Munich and the wider area. Working closely with the Munich Council's Department of Social Affairs and the local Job Centers, the network is offering free trainings for young people facing social disadvantages and from migrant backgrounds who live in the city's problem neighborhoods. Employees from fourteen partner companies will be taking part in this first Day of Action in the Bavarian capital.

"By organizing this Day of Action we want to send out a positive signal in the European Year of Volunteering 2011," says Felicitas Schneider, Partner at Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. "The city in which we work, along with the people who live here, are very important to us. This is why we want to share some of our expertise with them and support them in the challenges of everyday life. We are delighted that so many local and international businesses are taking part in this first Day of Action and showing a strong commitment to the citizens of Munich."

Fifteen companies headquartered in and around Munich are taking part in the Day of Action: BayernLB, Siemens, Timberland, BMW, Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Wrigley, Hoffmann Catering, Deutsche Bank, E.ON Energy, MSD, GlaxoSmithKline, Munich RE and Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. Volunteers will be offering free seminars for adults at four community outreach offices (the Sozialbürgerhäuser at Ostbahnhof, Hasenbergl, Pasing and Sendling) and in the Münchner Kindl-Heim (children's home and youth support center). These seminars include training in job application, finance, computer skills, energy saving and nutrition. Child care will also be provided, with craft activities, games, cooking courses and excursions on offer. The organizers estimate that the one hundred volunteers will be offering services to more than 700 people on this Day of Action.

Plans for the first Day of Action have been drawn up by the "Companies for Munich" initiative and Munich Council. "We strongly welcome this joint action," says Munich's Mayor, Christian Ude. "It's great to see so many companies in our city taking responsibility for the local community and motivating their employees to get actively involved." Over the whole year, a total of more than five hundred employees from the network member companies will be in action in the many different projects.

New studies on corporate volunteering

Corporate volunteering is nothing unusual for many companies, as a new study on "Corporate Volunteering in Germany" shows. The study, jointly conducted by Roland Berger Strategy Consultants and the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany, finds that over 83% of the Germany-headquartered firms surveyed regularly practice corporate volunteering. The local aspect of this social commitment is particularly important for most of these companies. Around 47% of the firms surveyed focus their efforts on supporting local projects. Social (26%) and educational (22%) activities are key areas of support, while children and teenagers (30%) form by far the biggest target group for corporate volunteering.

Similar findings emerge from a regional survey of "Community commitment by employees of Munich companies". It reveals that nearly half of the businesses interviewed already engage in volunteering activities. Here, too, the most important target group is children and young people, who are mainly supported through mentoring, sponsoring and hands-on work. Moreover, most of the firms committed to volunteering have developed long-term partnerships with social welfare institutions. More than half of companies have arrangements to release their staff for voluntary work.