CORPORATE VOLUNTEERING CASE STUDY
The Bloom Effect: growing wellbeing, pride and partnership through local action.
About the work
There are 820 hectares of green space across Sunderland including parks and nature reserves - but they need ongoing care and attention. Groundwork NE & Cumbria approached us for help to find volunteers to help plant 52,000 spring bulbs in the Millfield and Pallion areas of Sunderland between October and December 2025.
How SVSA helped
SVSA brokered connections with several companies and larger organisation looking to encourage employees to use their Employer Supported Volunteering (ESV) hours.
Outcomes
Staff from Sunderland City Council's Public Health & Wellbeing Living Well Team spent a day transforming Diamond Hall Pocket Park in Pallion - planting 3,000 crocus, daffodil and bluebell bulbs that in Spring will burst into colour across this community green space.
· Benefits for the corporate volunteers: wellbeing boost / team bonding / pride in their locality.
· Benefits for the company: enhanced reputation / employee engagement and wellbeing / knowledge and skill development / positive visibility.
· Benefits that will bloom for the community: abrighter public space / visible care and investment / inspiration for others to respect and care for their own spaces.
Conclusion
"Working with SVSA has been invaluable in engaging corporate volunteering. The volunteers received have been enthusiastic and enjoyed the experience. This has helped Groundwork meet its strategic targets and business growth plan, whilst the volunteer organisations have also been supported in meeting their CSR aims. The communities that the work was carried out in have also received improvements to their environment. A win-win situation all around I would say." Joel Barrow, Community Project Officer, Groundwork NE & Cumbria
"We really enjoyed being out in the fresh air, doing something hands-on that we could see would make a real difference to the community. It was also great to do something completely different with our team—working together in a new environment helped us connect in a way that's not always possible in the usual work setting." Amy Couzens, Links for Life Assistant, Sunderland City Council
Aligned to SVSA core values
· Partnerships and collaboration
Driving collaborative working by building networks and partnerships between local organisations and with strategic partners.
· Capacity building
Empowering organisations to deliver great services, to innovate and to grow, through targeted support and skills development.
· Volunteering
Creating an environment in which volunteers play a key role in strengthening communities and driving social impact.
