Charity wheels still turning at Goodyear
Economic pressures can mean businesses take a decision to put on hold their work with charities and other organisations.
One company making a commitment is Goodyear Dunlop, the Erdington-based tyre company which employs more than 1,500 people across the Midlands.
Ongoing fundraising work with Birmingham Children’s Hospital is just one of its recent success stories, with both parties enjoying the benefits of a successful partnership.
Fidelis Hynam, of Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Anna Stanley, from Goodyear Dunlop explained their ongoing initiatives at the Thrive-inspired forum that brought together charities and businesses.
The workshop, hosted by Pinsent Masons, was coordinated by Birmingham Future and was called New Year, New Conscience/New Year, New Connections – How to make a difference in 2009.
Anna, part of the company’s communications team and one of its community champions, explained why working with a charity makes good business sense and is a key part of Goodyear Dunlop’s strategy.
“We have a great focus on family safety so we look for creative ways on how to communicate that message, working with charities,” she explained.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is another chosen charity for the international tyre manufacturers. Anna said: “Some people would not expect us to be involved with boats and the sea but our message is that while our tyres are keeping you safe on the roads, we support people who keep you safe on the sea.”
The links with Birmingham Children’s Hospital began with a successful £40,000 fundraising campaign by the company to support the Burns Unit at BCH. The next pledge was to raise £50,000 to build a playground for the hospital’s Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service by October 2009. The hospital board decided to underwrite the cost of the much-needed playground with the business making a commitment to then retrospectively pay back the funds.
Goodyear Dunlop’s workforce have undertaken a wealth of fundraising events. including a charity ball in November that raised £21,050.
Anna said the company’s links with the hospital were different to the approach with the RNLI. “We wanted a corporate charity and wanted to target everyone’s efforts into one campaign.
“We are helping a local cause and, because a lot of our people have had links with the hospital, it also means something personal to them.
“We are a big company and this is an ideal way of proactively linking ourselves with a charity – we want people to know what we are doing and it is great public relations because we are associated with a great charity.
“Hopefully, it means that when customers need a new tyre, they will have read about our work with the hospital and think about Goodyear Dunlop.”
The employees, called associates at Goodyear Dunlop, are encouraged to come up with fundraising initiatives – these have included truck tyre roles and even a Birmingham-to-Paris bike ride.
Anna explained: “Our partnership with the hospital gets people talking to each other. It might mean someone from finance, who never gets to know someone from another department, has a chance to do something with someone from another department.
“Knowing how they are helping the hospital gives them a great feeling of self worth and it is a great motivator – it makes everybody smile. It really does make a difference.”
Fidelis Hynam, who helped to organise the workshop, believes that other businesses could tailor their own initiatives to meet their needs and challenges.
“By focussing on one specific project we can set tangible appeals with achievable goals and plan activity that brings benefits to everyone in the partnership,” she said.
