John Lewis offers staff as volunteers for up to six months

John Lewis Partnership is inviting UK charities to apply for volunteers from John Lewis and Waitrose stores to work for them on a six-month secondment, fully paid for by the company.

The Golden Jubilee Trust, the Partnership's charitable trust, allows every employee (or 'Partner'), at any level, in the Partnership to take up to six months off, fully paid to work in a charity in their local community and allowing them to return to their job post secondment.

The Trust awards approximately 50 secondments each year on a full or part-time basis for a maximum of six months.

The volunteering offer is open to organisations of all sizes, from small community-based charities to large international organisations.

The John Lewis Partnership operates 27 department stores across the UK, 193 Waitrose supermarkets, and Greenbee, a new direct services company.

Chris Jones, Secretary to the John Lewis Partnership Golden Jubilee Trust, said: "This is our eighth year and we’re still going strong with 45 secondments awards and more than 22,500 hours donated to charities. We’re keen to continue this success and match the skills of our Partners to those needed within charities."

"Many of the placements occur through Partners' close ties with charities, with a personal experience triggering their involvement. These are often small, local organisations that struggle with the type of resources, from IT to transport, that we take for granted in the Partnership."

www.johnlewispartnership.co.uk