Top Irish Companies Share Their Experiences…
Caroline O’Connor | Corporate Responsibility Manager | Gas Networks Ireland
“24 Companies from around Ireland are currently involved in the Time to Read programme. We asked a selection of employees and managers from some of the 24 companies involved in the programme to discuss their experiences.”
“Time to Read addresses key elements of Ireland’s plan to improve literacy levels nationally and Gas Networks Ireland is delighted to be involved with the programme since its very beginning in 2010. Time to Read nurtures an interest in reading – a skill that is essential for any study or career path. Working with the wonderful children at Scoil Mhuire Fatima, Scoil Aiserí Chríost and Mother of Divine Grace on Time to Read, our employees have developed new perspectives and skills as well as making a difference and supporting future generations.”
Karina Howley | Head of Corporate Social Responsibility | KPMG Ireland
“KPMG is delighted to engage in the Time to Read programme, being involved since its inception, we see the value in instilling a passion for reading with young students. This is one of our most popular CSR programmes, even though the commitment is significant, each year we have trouble just selecting 10 readers from the many volunteers that apply. The feedback from our people who are involved is universally positive; they love doing something completely different from their day-to-day work, they feel they are making a positive impact on a young person, and they make a real connection with the students they work closely with. This is a programme that our staff are very passionate about and we look forward to continuing to work with the staff and students of City Quay National School.”
Maria Carroll | Human Resources Business Partner | Elavon
“Elavon are delighted to support Time to Read in Ireland. From pilot right through to launch it has been a wonderful and enriching experience for us as a company and for the individual volunteers in Arklow and Cherrywood. The fact that it has such a positive effect on the children and the adults involved is testament to the success of this programme. The program really created a buzz around the offices with stories shared by the readers of their interactions with the children and the improvements in confidence and reading ability over the period. I believe it also serves as a great mechanism for Elavon to relate to the local community, and creates awareness of our organisation.”
Anita Murphy | Training and Development Manager | Heatons
“Heatons were delighted to participate in the Time to Read programme, Ireland’s first business to education reading initiative & partner with both Business in the Community Ireland and a local primary school, Scoil an Croi Ro Naofa, Killinarden. We are really proud that we are the 1st retailer to take part in this programme. Ms. Healy’s class were a pleasure to work with and over the 20 weeks our 10 volunteers could really see the children’ confidence and their love for reading grow. During the programme the children got the chance to visit our Head Office and meet the teams, the children really enjoyed their visit & we felt we got the chance to give something back to the local community.”
