Think in the community

We care about our colleagues, clients and our local community.

Our community matters to us, so both as a company and on an individual level we strive to support it as much as possible, in any way that we can. We do this by providing additional incentives for our staff to support them in their charitable activities; we provide work placements for children from local schools; and we support local charities and initiatives such as the Dorset Children’s Foundation (DCF) and the AFC Bournemouth Community Trust.

Our Charity Partners

The Dorset Children’s Foundation (DCF)

The DCF have been our primary charity partner since 2016. To raise vital funds for them we have undertaken many fundraising activities such as car washing, bake sales and fundraising auctions. These are coupled with annual sponsored challenges which have seen us pulling a 35 ton Boeing 737 across a runway, jumping out of airplanes at 12,000ft (with a parachute!) and hiking 15 miles along the Dorset coastline on the hottest day of the year dressed as a 7ft teddy bear and pushing a weighted wheelchair.

These activities have helped raise funds to enable the charity to buy specialised equipment, to organise social events for the children and to ensure they are able to continue providing their support to children in the community who really need it.

We have also sponsored The DCF Football Club (DCF FC) since 2020. Our sponsorship funds all equipment and pitch bookings for the year, allowing those with additional needs and their families to enjoy award-winning football sessions which are fully tailored and fully inclusive.

AFC Bournemouth Community Partner

In 2023 we were awarded Community Partner status by AFC Bournemouth, our local Premier League football club.  Over the course of the partnership we will fund specific charitable initiatives which will be delivered within the community.

One of the initiatives we have already funded is the AFC Bournemouth Community Sports Trust Holiday Activity Fund (HAF) programme, which is a free holiday club open to children aged between 7- 14 years old from low-income families or those entitled to free school meals. The initiative gives the children access to a range of sporting activities as well as a chance to take part in classes to learn about social action, their local community and  sustainability. Whilst attending the holiday clubs our funds ensure the children receive free hot meals.

Fundraising for local causes

Alongside our charity partners, over the years we have supported individual local charities when they have specific needs.  We have  donated food packages to our local foodbanks, litter picked on our beautiful local beaches and donated funds to a local scouts group so they could have a once-in-a-lifetime camping experience in the RAF Museum. When the COVID pandemic meant we had to close our office in 2020 we supported our local Samaritans branch by donating all our office supplies such as hand sanitiser and toilet rolls so that their team could continue to support our local community during this challenging time.

Placements for local secondary school children

In order to support local education within our community we provide work experience placements annually to give secondary school children the opportunity to gain experience in a work environment, learn new skills and to find out more about the types of work and projects we get involved in. Fully paid university placements are also offered to local universities in order to provide opportunities for students to develop and deepen their learning in the aviation industry and apply what they have learnt across a range of real-life ATM and airports projects.

Employee benefits – five days volunteering per year

We recognise that we have a significant role to play in the communities within which we work and live. So much so that we actively encourage our employees to apply their skills and expertise to support organisations who rely on volunteers to achieve their goals and objectives.

In order to fully support our staff with their individual commitment to our local community, they are able to volunteer during work hours without it impacting on their annual leave allowance. Within our standard employee benefits programme, we offer every employee the opportunity to take an additional five days paid leave each year to participate in community volunteering and charitable activities.