London City Airport (LCY) has launched a new staff volunteering policy that will see all staff volunteer in the local community for a minimum of eight hours a year, increasing to two days in 2024.

The implementation of the new staff volunteering policy forms part of the airport’s Sustainability Roadmap and its third sustainability pillar, ‘Helping East London Grow and Prosper’.

This announcement follows LCY staff recently completing its summer ‘volunteering fortnight’ in the local community, supporting a number of charities, food banks, educational programmes in schools and mentoring students.

This summer, LCY staff volunteered for the AHOY centre, a local water sports charity in one of London’s most deprived communities, with different jobs – including cleaning walkways, the decking area and gardening. AHOY runs activities including rowing and sailing for disadvantaged and at-risk young people.

LCY staff also supported Redbridge foodbank in giving out nutritionally balanced emergency food to people in need, and Little Village – a Hackney-based charity that supports families with children under five living in poverty across London – to provide essential items like clothes, shoes, cots, nappies, toiletries, buggies and toys to those needing extra support.

In addition, LCY staff helped the Community Food Enterprise prepare food parcels for customers and served as drivers’ assistants while they undertook food drop-offs.

Michael Spiers, Chief People Officer, London City Airport, said: “As one of the largest employers in the local area, we are committed to giving back and making positive contributions to our local community.

“Our improved volunteering policy will allow our staff to spend more time helping people and charities in our local community, which is really important to us at London City Airport.”

Dan O’Sullivan, Fundraising Manager at the Ahoy Centre, said: “Often tasks that help to maintain the facilities and better the experience of our users can be overlooked due to a lack of internal resource, so the time and efforts given by volunteers are extremely valuable to small charities like AHOY.

“We’re grateful to the team from London City Airport for their recent volunteering day with AHOY, it was great to welcome a team who were enthusiastic to get stuck in and learn about our cause – and so we hope it won’t be too long until the team are back with us.”

LCY’s summer volunteering fortnight follows its recent Local Community Fund announcement of the latest successful applicants to its second tranche of funding from the airport’s £75,000 Community Fund. This includes awarding more than £36,000 of funding to 13 charities and not-for-profit organisations covering six East London boroughs including Newham, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Bexley, Waltham Forest, and Redbridge. Each successful applicant will receive a grant of up to £3,000 to build stronger, safer, and healthier communities, and raise aspirations of East Londoners.

The next deadline for applications to LCY’s Local Community Fund is 8th December and the airport’s next volunteering fortnight ‘12 Days of Giving’ will take place in the first two weeks of December.

In November, LCY will also be hosting a local procurement event for SMEs and its flagship STEM in Aviation event for local students at the ExCel Centre.