Barclays colleagues all over the world took part in the Group-wide Make a Difference Day campaign in October 2009.

The annual event is organised by charity CSV (Community Service Volunteers) and has been supported by Barclays since 2000. The aim is to encourage people to give their time, not their money, to get involved in volunteering and make a valuable impact on their local communities.

In 2009, 20,326 colleagues from 29 countries across the business took part, volunteering in 1,765 separate initiatives.

Projects included: UK colleagues running Barclays Money Skills financial capability sessions; volunteers in Zimbabwe training rural women running small to medium projects, on managing their books and basic book keeping skills; US employees delivering mock interview sessions to support young people’s career preparation; IT colleagues in Lithuania installing and networking computers at a university; employees in the Cayman Islands painting murals and refurbishing a primary school; colleagues in the UAE organising work experience and job shadowing opportunities for local students; volunteers in Spain organising a paint balling activity for young people at risk of exclusion.

Barclays colleagues were joined by 9,537 guests, including friends, family, customers and suppliers.

“The impact Make a Difference Day activities have on local communities cannot be overstated,” says Marcus Agius, Barclays Group Chairman.