Community Day: celebrating 25 years

Lendlease Community Day celebrates 25 Years of giving back to the community. Established in 1996, Community Day has continued to evolve to meet the changing needs of communities and this year was no different. Over 1000 Lendlease employees registered to participate in a diverse range of virtual and face to face volunteering.  

In Australia around 700 volunteers registered to participate in just over 35 different projects in partnership with our External Partners, Landcare, OzHarvest, the Australian Red Cross, ABCN and other community organisations. Projects included virtual skilling workshops, online cooking master classes, career mentoring, blood donations and in person landscaping and bush regeneration activities.  

Nationally, we offered not-for-profit organisations access to a variety of training workshops at no charge. It was a big two weeks with 26 workshops and over 1,200 attendees. With 93 per cent of attendees wanting to learn more about future workshops.  

Online, our people took part in a Two Good Master Class cooking session. Two Good will use our donation for these Master Class sessions to make 400 meals for people in need.  

In person in Cairns, Queensland, we worked alongside the Johnathan Thurston Academy to build the new JT Believe Centre – a place for young Indigenous women to learn, grow and evolve into the next generation of female Community leaders.  

In Europe, many of our programs were completed online, working with local students, elderly people and local unemployed residents. With over 300 volunteers registered in over 30 projects, our virtual educational sessions included introducing local students to Engineering, Construction and careers in the built environment.  

We worked with local unemployed residents to host mock virtual mock interviews and joined mentoring circles with local Job centres. Employees based on project sites donated non-perishable goods to Foodbank. Our three physical Community Day ‘challenges’ were definitely the most popular projects. This included completing a 31-mile run / hike for Children’s Mental Health charity.  

In America, more than 80 volunteers participated in a range of virtual volunteering activities. From becoming a UN digital volunteer, to transcribing historical documents on African American history, to mentoring the next generation of individuals interested in pursuing careers in the construction industry, there was something for everyone to make a difference.   

Ryan Hughes, Associate Sustainability Manager, Construction, said: “All we needed was an internet connection to make an impact this year. As a long-time volunteer of the ACE Mentor Program, an organization that harnesses interest in high school students pursuing careers in architecture, construction and engineering, I am excited that Lendlease volunteers met and will continue to meet virtually to mentor the young adults involved.”  

And finally, in Asia our Community Day team is completing their activities during the month of November and in early 2021.  

“Although our team will celebrate at a much later date, Community Day in Asia has not lost its spirit in making positive contributions to its local communities. This year we are working closely with our community partners to ensure volunteering experiences are safe and meaningful.” said Michael Long, Asia Head of Foundation.  

“For the first time, we are also pivoting in offering virtual volunteering experiences to our people in Asia,” he added.  

Even after 25 years, Community Day continues to play an important role in helping Lendlease give back to the community.