I cannot say I spend a great deal of my time reading corporate social responsibility reports, but one by the BBC recently dropped into my inbox and I thought I would take a look.

As with all these things, it contains a whole load of patting on the back, but my attention spiked around page 35 in the charity chapter, which highlights the role the BBC plays in supporting the voluntary sector across the UK and the world, both through its own charities and the work it does to support hundreds of others.

What’s interesting is that both Children in Need and Sport Relief have raised more than ever before in spite of the economic climate, with the former achieving £39m and Sport Relief £40m.

On the volunteering side of things, just under 700 staff members have worked with external charity partners through the BBC’s staff volunteering scheme Connect & Create. It works with 10 national charity partners and six local project partners in the north of England. But with 400 members of staff “working” at Glastonbury this year the true figure could be much higher.

One of the Connect & Create projects that really took my fancy was a relationship with Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children, in which 15 BBC staff produced podcasts with young patients.

The BBC volunteers spent three days working at the hospital with the youngsters who recorded their experiences of different illnesses.  The podcasts were then uploaded to the hospital’s Children first for health website, where other children who had been newly diagnosed could download and listen to them.  

The BBC volunteers gained new skills and audience insights while Great Ormond Street received a valuable new communications tool for its patients. The project was also nominated for the best community programming prize at the Sony Radio Academy Awards 2010.
 
There are real opportunities for charities to take advantage and work with the BBC.

Ten organisations, including Whizz-Kidz, Age UK, Groundwork and Samaritans have been named as official Connect & Create national partners, but I know from my experience of working both inside and outside the BBC that there is great potential to develop relationships and links with the media giant.  Have you had BBC staff volunteering in your organisation or worked on a TV/radio project? It would be good to hear your stories.
 

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