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Education
Our goal is to increase awareness and understanding among young people and adults in key areas of everyday risk, to develop their health and their ability to enjoy their communities, and to help them contribute to the full.
Education is an important part of Aviva’s community development activity, including our Street to School programme, which represents 50% of our global community investment.
Our aim is to go beyond financial investment alone, and form partnerships to create a genuine and lasting impact. We invest for the long term, contributing funding, face-to-face time and the skills of our employees. Brief examples follow, and more details are available in our regional reports.
School mentoring programme: UK
Aviva Investors’ mentoring programme with a London school is in its third year. Aviva Investors’ London employees are matched to sixth-form A-Level students attending Our Lady’s in Hackney. The aim is to use Aviva Investors’ expertise to help pupils widen their knowledge of business and the workplace, as well as providing advice on careers and CV writing. Read more about our community programmes in the UK.
Student mentoring: Ireland
In Ireland we continued to work with the Schools’ Business Partnership to deliver the Skills@Work programme, run by Business in the Community. Our volunteer employees worked in three schools in Cork, Dublin and Galway to help mentor students and encourage them to stay in school and recognise the value of education.
Volunteers gave talks on their jobs and ran workshops on building a good CV and developing interview skills. Students were able to visit an Aviva site to learn more about the financial services industry and the importance of financial planning. Skills@Work taps into the enthusiasm and knowledge of local business volunteers to improve students’ real-life skills.
Inspiring young people: Canada
In Canada, our flagship community partnership is designed to inspire young people to change the world. Working with Free the Children – a dynamic organisation focused on young people and global citizenship – we sponsored ‘We Day’, held in three major cities across Canada. This involved motivational presentations from global leaders, social activities and entertainers.
‘Read to Learn’: USA
In 2010, Aviva USA worked with United Way on its ‘Read to Learn’ project and its annual ‘Reach Out to Dropouts’ initiatives. Part of of our group-wide Street to School programme, this helped to boost employee giving to good causes by 10% compared to 2009.
Grassroots athletics: UK
Aviva supports grass roots athletics through a number of programmes, including Aviva Startrack, Aviva Sportshall, Aviva Elevating Athletics, Aviva Academy Awards, Aviva Parallel Success and Aviva Schools Championships.
Together, these programmes aim to give every child in the UK, regardless of age or ability, the chance to get involved in athletics, as part of encouraging healthier lifestyles and helping to prevent childhood obesity. A key aim is also to help teachers to encourage and motivate youngsters, which is vital for attracting and retaining talented young athletes in the sport, and ensuring a legacy beyond the 2012 Olympics.
In 2010, Aviva USA worked with United Way on its ‘Read to Learn’ project.