OSB Group is celebrating its volunteering achievements for Volunteers Week 2024.

Each year, OSB Group attempts to beat its community-connected targets; at the end of May, staff have already logged over 1,700 hours of volunteering in 2024, equating to 243 working days of support for their communities in 46 organisations across the UK. Results reveal that OSB Group is 52% through its target of 3,300 hours across 2024.

OSB Group is committed to ‘being better neighbours’ and recognise that this can be achieved, not only through the donation of money, but through the donation of time, skills, and expertise of its colleagues. To demonstrate this commitment all OSB Group employees are entitled to 14 hours volunteering time, per year and are encouraged to use the full allocation of hours and give something back to local communities.

Colleagues have been supporting a wide range of different causes with their allocated volunteering time, with activities from gardening to food banks to animal sanctuaries. One ongoing relationship is with Friends of Di’s Kitchen which is a food bank in Wolverhampton. Victoria Bladon, an underwriter for The Group has organised 177 hours of volunteering support for Friends of Di’s Kitchen and manages the relationship between colleagues and the organisation, not only this, but Victoria organises regular food donations to the charity as well.

Bladon (pictured, right) said: “We are all experiencing the impact the cost-of-living crisis is having but some members of our local community are really struggling to feed themselves and their families and that’s where Jan and her wonderful team of volunteers at Friends of Di’s Kitchen come in providing food to people in need across Wolverhampton.

“Luckily, OSB Group gives us the opportunity to help our local community with 14 hours of volunteer work each year, which we have been putting to great use. Our team of volunteers at OSB have been giving a few hours each week to help deliver the food and it’s having such an amazing impact on the community. As of 23rd May 2024, Friends of Di’s Kitchen have supplied food to 100,000 guests.”