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International Volunteer Day is a day that celebrates volunteers around the globe who rise to meet challenges — climate change, inequality, poverty, and more — turning problems into progress

In February 2024, we introduced the Walter Lilly Volunteering Calendar — a simplified programme of pre-arranged activities designed to maximise usage of the two paid volunteering days annually granted to all staff. In addition, some of our site teams proactively took the lead in organising their own initiatives, often inviting client design teams and supply chain partners to join them in their efforts, which doubled as fantastic opportunities to strengthen team bonds and network beyond usual work environments.

This year, Walter Lilly staff collectively delivered 547.5 volunteering hours, generating an impressive social value impact of £17,057.42! This marks a substantial improvement upon last year’s totals of 213.25 hours and £6,366.88, proving the programme a great success.

As well as volunteering, we continue to support staff-led fundraising efforts through corporate charitable contributions. This year, several organisations have benefited from our support, including Sunnyside Rural Trust, Duchenne UK, CRASH, and Evolve Housing + Support. Additionally, staff sponsorships have made a significant impact, with examples including Sam Stowe’s participation in the Richmond Marathon and Oliver Ballard’s impressive 100km Trailwalker Challenge, which accumulated donations for the British Heart Foundation and The Gurkha Welfare Trust, respectively.

This summer, we also supported a Walter Lilly team entry into the Meinhardt Touch Rugby Tournament. The team, consisting of Tom Knight, Will Mills, Harrison Burgoine, Luke Evans, Diana Rodriguez, Jose Farfan, Cara Eley, Liam Pratt, Alex Chapman, Ryan Pritchard, and Jonathan Stanway, emerged as the 2024 champions! The event raised an impressive £10,352 for Centrepoint, the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity, which helps over 16,000 young people aged 16-25 find homes and employment each year.

HQR London continues to unite the industry for a good cause. This year, we facilitated in raising £130,000 for The Lighthouse Club and the Royal Surrey Charity Cancer Centre, with each organisation receiving £65,000 to aid their invaluable work. The annual HQR Ball remains an industry calendar highlight — a night of celebration, connection, and generosity. With total contributions now topping £825,000, we are setting our sights on hitting the magic £1 million mark at the 2025 Ball!

On this International Volunteer Day, we celebrate these collective achievements and encourage everyone to maintain this momentum moving forward. Together, we are having a tangible positive impact on our local communities. Let’s keep striving to make a difference!