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Hannah Lewis, UK Country Manager. (Image: American Express)
A Message from Hannah Lewis, UK Country Manager, American Express
"Today marks the start of Volunteers’ Week (3-9 June 2024) in the UK which is an important moment to recognise and celebrate our nation's many volunteers and to thank them for their important contribution to helping our communities thrive.
At American Express we’ve always been guided by strong principles (our Blue Box Values) and have a long history of enabling our colleagues to volunteer for organisations that are making a positive impact.
From helping young people improve their employability skills and feel more confident about their future prospects, to giving girls their first positive experience of football, I’m proud of how #TeamAmex colleagues are sharing their knowledge, skills and experience.
For Volunteers’ Week, I’d like to celebrate this valuable volunteering work, and hope to help inspire others by sharing their experiences."
Hannah Lewis, UK Country Manager, American Express
2023-2024 Serve2Gether Colleague Volunteer Programme:
13 charities across Sussex, the South East and wider UK were supported.
Over 5,000 hours from 1,300 Amex colleague volunteers.
Planting and Maintaining Trees to Support a Low-Carbon Future
Jessica Warren from Hurstpierpoint (pictured below, right) was one of 29 American Express colleagues that participated in a Trees For Cities conservation event last summer, the project being a community orchard in Bevendean, Brighton. Sitting within an area of grassland, the trees were planted in 2023 as large saplings, 10 metres apart as a traditional orchard. As they mature, their canopies will spread and interlock, providing beautiful spaces to spend time in.
Community volunteers have a vital part to play in the orchard’s ongoing care and maintenance. Amex colleagues helped remove weeds from tree bases;diseased, damaged, and dead branches were pruned, and supportsand ties were checked to ensure the trees grow straight and strong.
A colleague within the company’s Travel & Lifestyle Services at the 1 John Street Brighton office, Jessica said:
“As a parent working full-time, finding spare time to volunteer can be challenging. Being able to volunteer as part of my workday, where the whole activity is organised for you, makes it so much easier to support local charities and good causes. I particularly enjoy nature-related activities, where you can get outside of the office with colleagues. It’s inspiring to spend time supporting organisations that are so knowledgeable and passionate about their conservation work.”
More recently, in April as part of Earth Month, a group of Amex colleagues from London (pictured below) supported Trees for Cities in Mile End Park, London, with maintenance of young urban trees to encourage their growth. Both American Express colleague volunteering activities in Sussex and London are part of the American Express Foundation’s grant commitment to Trees for Cities to add green canopy to UK urban areas to inspire people to plant, nurture, and celebrate trees.
Trees for Cities is a leading UK charity working at a national and international scale to improve lives by planting trees in towns and cities. For more information visit: treesforcities.org
Making a Difference to a Student’s Future Career
In collaboration with the West Sussex, Brighton and Hove Careers Hub (WSBH Careers Hub) American Express colleague volunteers partnered with further education providers Cardinal Newman College, BHASVIC (Brighton, Hove & Sussex 6th Form College) and Varndean College to provide students with insights into the world of work, talk about their own career journeys and help prepare young people for the workplace.
Louis Button-Lynham, an American Express colleague volunteer said: “Being Brighton born and bred, and having attended local schools, I wanted to give back to areas that supported me growing up. Volunteering as an Enterprise Adviser enables me to work with some amazing people who have an unparalleled passion for what they do. It’s extremely gratifying to see students connect the dots and take things away from the programme that will benefit them in their future careers.”
In addition, since 2010, American Express colleagues have also been involved in several mentoring programmes with the University of Brighton.
As well as being a valuable opportunity for students, this provides the American Express colleague volunteers the opportunity to work on their own personal development, leadership, and coaching experience, while supporting the local community.
Traditional Hedgelaying in National Tree Week
During National Tree Week last November, American Express colleagues rolled up their sleeves to help with hedge laying and coppicing in the South Downs National Park, on the edge of Kingston near Lewes.
This colleague volunteering work is part of the American Express Foundation grant partnership with National Parks UK. Cutting or laying deciduous trees benefits biodiversity by encouraging new growth of shoots, allowing more light to reach the ground, so wildflowers can grow, and creating warm habitats for basking invertebrates such as butterflies and dragonflies.
Daniel Palomar from Peacehaven (pictured), a colleague in the company’s Technologies operations in Burgess Hill said:
“Volunteering as #TeamAmex gives us the opportunity to participate in a wide range of initiatives that support our local communities. It’s also great for expanding your network across the company, meeting colleagues from other areas of the business. You also get to learn new skills, you might never get to try like traditional hedgelaying, a very old craft technique applied to boundary land to protect crops and livestock, instead of using modern fencing. Being able to do something that would help contribute to maintaining a conservation area was really rewarding.”
A message fromMatt Dorn, Chief Executive Officer atBrighton & Hove Albion Foundation
At Brighton & Hove Albion Foundation (BHAFC Foundation) we use the power of football to engage and inspire people to change their lives, help them get active, learn new skills and improve their wellbeing.
Matt Dorn, Chief Executive Officer, Brighton & Hove Albion Foundation (Image: American Express)
As the main sponsor of Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, American Express has been a partner of ours for more than 13 years. Providing crucial funding as well as colleague volunteering time, American Express works with us to deliver a range of community initiatives aimed at building essential skills, confidence and aspirations amongst children, young people and adults.
The work we’ve done together in the last 12 months has reached around 1,600 participants across Sussex. Over this time, we’ve seen some exciting changes. We’ve moved to the heart of the city, nearer to the communities we work within, and opened a new community hub (café).
We’re looking forward to welcoming people to our new home, to learn more about our work, including the programmes supported by American Express colleagues.
Matt Dorn, Chief Executive Officer, Brighton & Hove Albion Foundation
The Cross-Curriculum Albion Cup Event
In February, 88 pupils from 11 schools across Sussex took part in the annual Cross-Curriculum Albion Cup event at the American Express Stadium (the Amex). Led by BHAFC Foundation qualified teaching staff, the school teams completed a series of timed football-themed challenges aligned to curriculum areas of numeracy, literacy, and STEM.
Twenty American Express volunteers worked with teams across the challenges, supporting pupils with key skills such as teamwork, communication, problem solving, confidence and resilience, as well as judging activities and recording team scores in timed tasks.
Summerlea Community Primary School in Rustington topped the table and was presented with the Cross-Curriculum Albion Cup trophy.Amex colleague Taymor Zadeh from Hove (pictured above), who worked alongside the students from Summerlea said:
“Brighton is my hometown football club.To be able to volunteer and share my skills in a football-themed initiative was great fun. For many students, this was their first time at the Amex and their excitement was infectious. Getting students out of a classroom environmentwas a great way to inspire them to learn. Winning the Cup was an added bonus!”
Forging Relationships through Football
Almost 60 refugees living in Sussex came together at a free football tournament last year, at the University of Brighton’s Falmer campus, neighbouring the American Express Stadium.
Participants from countries including Afghanistan, Sudan, Morocco, and Syria were invited to the event. During the course of the day the young players practised drills and fun football skills, culminating in a football tournament, guided by BHAFC Foundation coaches.
The event was supported by American Express colleagues who assisted the coaches and engaged with participants.
The aim of these sessions is to forge relationships, strengthen ties with the local community and give participants more opportunities to socialise with their peers.
Richard Sandell, from Horsham, West Sussex who works in Global Services Group at American Express, (pictured left, with a group of players) said:
“Serve2Gether is a fantastic opportunity to support different causes in the community and to be able to give back whilst working. Days like this are a great example of how football can unite young people from all different backgrounds. To see everyone come together in their mixed teams, overcoming different language challenges, supporting each other, and most importantly having a whole load of fun, was an amazing experience.”
Using Football to Inspire Students to Learn
At the start of the year, 50 Sussex students were welcomed to a Social Enterprise Challenge celebration event at the Amex. The initiative gives young people an understanding of organisations with a social purpose, while learning key life-skills such as planning, communication and teamwork.
American Express colleagues worked with students at workshop sessions facilitated by BHAFC Foundation at their respective schools, supporting students gain valuable employment and presentation skills. Participating schools were Hove Park School, Hove’s Blatchington Mill School, Brighton Aldridge Community Academy (BACA) Steyning Grammar School and Felpham Community College Bognor Regis.
The celebration event saw students present their project ideas themed around the football club to American Express Senior Vice President Beverly Sawyers and the club’s Sustainability Manager, Tom Harris (pictured above). Ideas presented included a preloved football boots campaign, where donated boots could be redistributed within the community.
Football Day Encourages More Girls to Play
Schools from across Sussex had the opportunity to play on the Community Pitch at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre, Lancing. Led by BHAFC Foundation qualified coaches, the day consisted of skills-based football activities and friendly small-sided games.
Ten American Express colleagues supported the event, assisted the coaches, and helped provide encouragementto participants. American Express arranged a surprise appearance from Brighton & Hove Albion Women’s Super League first team players: Katie Robinson, Maisie Symonds, and Elisabeth Terland (pictured) who took part in a Q&A about their football experiences, and awarded medals to participants.
The Girls’ Football Day aims to introduce young girls to the sport in a fun, non-competitive environment, demonstrating that everyone can feel welcome in football. Tailored specifically for girls who might be new to football, or have limited experience, participants were identified by their school as showing an interest in learning more about the game, but hadn’t the confidence to get involved before.
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