Civica employees support the leaders of tomorrow

Our people have the know-how and skills to support our customers and communities across the globe, but it’s their soft skills and influence that is making an even greater impact on young people with big aspirations. Whether it’s a case of them not benefitting from the best start in life or they need an extra boost to set their career on the right footing, investing in the future can begin with volunteering with charities like Young Enterprise and Whitelion.

From Saturday 23rd to Sunday 24th March 2019, a valiant group of six took on the Three Peaks Challenge in Canberra, Australia, raising money for Whitelion which supports at-risk youth. Civica has been supporting Whitelion since the Civica Foundation launched around ten years ago, including participating in their annual Bail Out campaign.

Let’s see how our colleagues found the Three Peaks…

“One of the weekend’s highlights was seeing all the wildlife. At Tennent we witnessed a kangaroo mob on the first stretch, followed by a huge possum on the night walk down Kosciusko. On the base of Bogong a wallaby was just sat with a questioning look in its eyes, and we even encountered a copperhead snake on the trail coming down! No snakes, they said, ‘they’ll be more scared of you and will slide away… nope!”

“I remember looking almost vertically up to the summit of Bogong, the final peak, and knowing there were two more hours of steep climbing to go when we’d already done three to get to that point. The demons in my head were screaming ‘stop’!

“Despite that, the camaraderie of the whole team to ensure we helped each other get across that finish line was a massive highlight for me.”

“At the end of Bogong, somehow Daryn, Ryan, Mary and I had managed to regroup a couple of kilometres away from the end. Brett, however, was far in front near the finish line. As we came to the end of the bush trail on the final stretch, our guide radioed ahead saying, ‘I have reached the road with the Civica team.’

“Brett obviously heard this through the radio of the guide he was with as a few moments later, he ran back towards us so we could all cross the finish line together! We also had Denis, who sadly injured himself on the second peak, waiting for us at the end so we could all complete the challenge as one.”

“The toughest moment for me was getting injured after reaching Eagles Nest on Kosciuszko having torn a ligament in my knee. It was really hard knowing that I had the option to retire, go back, get help and recover when most young people supported by Whitelion wouldn’t have had those same options without the charity’s services, made possible through fundraising. That really resonated with me and reinforced how much I want to continue supporting Whitelion.”

“Meeting some of the children who will benefit from our fundraising was a powerful and moving experience. They climbed with us to the final peak and inspired us all to keep going despite our exhaustion. The Whitelion motto 'we never give up' was never far from our minds."

“On the final mountain, three at-risk youths climbed with us, with one boy in particular finding it tough pretty early on but still managing to take on the five-hour climb and three-hour descent. At the end he asked everybody to get together, telling us that he’d been taking videos and photos during the whole trek so he could make a video for us all! That was a fantastic way to conclude the journey, and really drove it home that the money we raised is helping real kids.”

Over in the UK, many of our colleagues have been dedicating time to volunteer with Young Enterprise, a charity which helps young people meet employer contacts and prepare for the world of work, through entrepreneurship and innovation.

Our Bristol-based volunteers supported the Launchpad Masterclass which introduces young people to employability skills and the importance of different team roles and strengths through an enterprise challenge and a product pitch.

“We were challenged to design a trainer which the children then had to sell to their classmates in a two-minute presentation. My group was adamant that they would not stand up and talk but with how attentive and engaged they were, it was hard for them not to.”

“I helped calm the students’ nerves by talking about my role and my colleagues, some of which are apprentices who bring so much to the table, yet only a few years older than the students. I think that was important for the students to hear, that career opportunities are everywhere and within reach, especially at Civica.”

Neil Marley, Group Programmes & Projects Director, helped to judge the Outer East London Young Enterprise final on Monday 1st April 2019, where teams of young entrepreneurs showcased their innovative ideas, including an augmented reality gift label to products made from the lost and broken umbrellas collected by Transport for London.

Neil decided to support the charity after feeling moved by their presentation at our FY19 kick-off conference in November 2018.

“I felt the need to directly help Young Enterprise rather than just let others make it work, knowing that the scheme could be really valuable to my 14-year old son.

“Having a lot of experience in presenting, I could pass on my knowledge to the young people ahead of the next round of the competition. 

“From what I saw, they could absolutely be the Civica leaders of tomorrow. So many of the traits we look for in our leaders were on display. Confidence, decision-making, thoughtfulness, passion and so much more. It was a really enjoyable day and I hope to work with Young Enterprise on future occasions.”

With plenty more opportunities with Whitelion and Young Enterprise in the pipeline for our colleagues, including through our annual Donate-a-day benefit, our ‘Coding for Kids’ schools’ outreach programme and internal shadowing scheme, ensures that we’re continually investing in the future.

Some UK colleagues will also be again spending a night under the stars and taking part in other sponsored activities for Byte Night on Friday 4th October 2019, in support of Action for Children.

You can read more about how we have previously marked Byte Night here.