And the winners are...

Congratulations to all the Barclays colleagues that were recognised at the CSV Make a Difference Day 2006 Awards.

Best Skill-sharing Activity
Winner: Barclays Marondera Branch, Zimbabwe

Best International Activity
Winner: Barclays Tankhill Branch, Uganda
Runner up: Barclays Capital, China
Shortlisted: Barclaycard US

Best Barclays UK Employee Team Activity
Winner: The Financial Awareness Challenge team
Runner up: Stratford upon Avon Branch
Shortlisted: Barclays Wealth Headway team
Shortlisted: Property Finance Team

Best Feel-good Activity
Shortlisted: Newtown Branch

Best Bridge-building Activity
Winner: CSV Action Desk, West Midlands and Barclays Marketing Services

Best CSV Activity
Winner: CSV Action Desk, Gloucestershire (includes Barclays volunteers and funding)

Best National Partner Activity
Runner up: Dorset Wildlife Trust (includes Barclays volunteers)

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Best Skill-sharing Activity
Winner: Barclays Marondera Branch, Zimbabwe, GRCB Sub Saharan Africa

The team has set up a skills training centre at Marondera Prison to equip inmates with diverse and practical skills that they can use in future to generate an income.

Volunteers taught the prisoners about candle making, bricklaying, knitting and sewing and they hope to introduce welding and carpentry in future.

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Best International Activity
Winner: Barclays Tankhill Branch, Uganda, GRCB Sub Saharan Africa

Every day, ten new cases of Malaria are reported at the Bethany Village Orphanage.

The team gave out 80 mosquito nets and taught the children them how to use them – already the local clinic has reported a fall in Malaria cases.

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Best International Activity
Runner up: Barclays Capital, China

To celebrate the Double Ninth Festival - a customary time for the Chinese to honour their elders - volunteers organised a one day tour to Yuyuang Garden in Shanghai for more than 100 older people from the surrounding villages.

They also made food parcels, which were handed out on the day.

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Best International Activity
Shortlisted: Barclaycard US

More than 900 colleagues (97% of employees) in Wilmington and Colorado Springs took part in a two-week Paint-a-thon.

Working with a local artist, they created beautiful paintings to brighten the lives of sick and underprivileged children at local hospices and low-income child care centres.

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Best Barclays UK Employee Team Activity
Winner: The Financial Awareness Challenge Team, UK Banking

This project supported local primary schools with financial education, as part of the national curriculum. Volunteers taught the children how to manage and save their pocket money in a fun and exciting way. 

20 schools were visited and more than 1,240 children have already benefited – and there’s plans for even more.

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Best Barclays UK Employee Team Activity
Runner up: Barclays Stratford upon Avon Branch, UK Retail Banking

By making a live appeal on local radio, the community chose Sue Ryder Care for this team of volunteers to support.

They worked in the charity shop, sold goods in the branch and handed out leaflets around the town to help raise its profile locally.

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Best Barclays UK Employee Team Activity
Shortlisted: Barclays Wealth Headway Team

This is the very first time that this team of 9 colleagues has volunteered. Following a timely conversation with Headway, the brain injury charity, they refurbished the charity’s recently donated London office.

Without this team, the work would have cost a substantial amount of money from the organisation’s limited resources.

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Best Barclays UK Employee Team Activity
Shortlisted: Barclays Property Finance Team, UK Business Banking

Volunteers organised a drama day at a local school in Hackney for the children, a number of who are autistic, to inspire their imagination and creativity.

The children and volunteers made costumes and acted out stories together – not what you’d expect from a group of stuffy bankers!

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Best Feel-good Activity
Shortlisted: Barclays Newtown Branch
UK Retail Banking

Volunteers spent a day at Cedewain Special Needs Schools in Newtown decorating a classroom, enhancing the sensory room and giving hands on classroom support with the children.

Some members of staff had never worked with children with such a wide variety of special needs, but found it a hugely humbling experience.

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Best Bridge-building Activity
Winner: CSV Action Desk, West Midlands and Barclays Marketing Services

A year on from the Lozells disturbances, Afro Caribbean and Asian young people from two local youth centres swapped properties and rejuvenated rooms for the other group to enjoy.

With materials donated from local suppliers and the support of over 65 Barclays employees, the day was a huge success.

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Best CSV Activity
Winner: CSV Action Desk, Gloucestershire
(with Barclays volunteers and funding)

A CSV Make a Difference Day branded bus became a familiar sight for local residents as it toured 8 community events over 6 days, with support from local Barclays employees.

Volunteers spruced up parks, built sensory gardens, launched appeals for volunteers and even wrote and performed a CSV Make a Difference Day song.

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Best National Partner Activity
Runner up: Dorset Wildlife Trust
(includes Barclays volunteers)

In Dorset, activities included painting a conference room, stuffing envelopes for a raffle, building accessible boardwalks on a heath-land reserve, a beach clean and a number of site clearance events on Brownsea Island.

The work had a huge and very positive impact for local organisations and the environment.

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