Overview
Aviva is proud to take action with partners to help improve employment prospects, strengthen financial resilience, and protect and restore nature across York and North Yorkshire. We’ve established programmes to improve employability prospects and social outcomes for disadvantaged communities and young people across the city. And we’re working with partners to deliver projects that benefit the local environment and build more resilient communities across North Yorkshire.
Improving employability prospects
The Place
Alongside individuals and companies such as Hiscox, Persimmon and Portakabin, Aviva has helped raise £1.5 million to establish and run a new education and community space, The Place, offering children and young people of Westfield access to new opportunities.
Aviva is funding The Place for five years as the skills and work partner. Through volunteering and support from our people, we are co-creating programmes that aim to help children and young people develop professional skills, offer guidance on routes into employment and improve educational and social outcomes for the next generation.
Since opening its doors in October 2023, The Place has become a vibrant hub for collaboration. In the first two academic years, The Place had over 5,000 interactions with 870 young people.
During the 2024/25 academic year, Aviva colleagues hosted two groups of pupils from York High at our Wellington Row office and delivered the 'Future Stars' skills workshop at the school to the whole Year 7 cohort, focusing on their strengths, skills and future pathways. Over the course of the 2025/26 academic year, a total of six skills workshops will be delivered to Year 7 and 8 pupils.
Volunteer it Yourself
The Aviva Foundation has made contributions to York through its Future Chances Fund. This fund aims to improve the employability of young people facing barriers due to inequality and discrimination. In York, the funding has supported two key charities:
Volunteer it Yourself (VIY) is a community interest company that challenges young people to help repair and refurbish community places and spaces while learning vocational trade skills on the job. VIY worked with the York Travellers Trust to help offer free, short-term work experience placements for young people, including those from Traveller communities who may not be engaged in employment, education, or training. Their goal is to provide valuable skills, practical experience, and Entry Level City and Guilds accreditations.
VIY and Aviva also worked on a project at Inspire Academy. The project engaged nine young people and six Aviva volunteers to build a bespoke common room and sensory chill-out pod. Aviva has also funded two additional VIY projects in York for 2025/26.
Strengthening financial resilience
Citizens Advice York
Through local and national partnerships, Aviva supports projects aimed at building financial resilience. This includes partnerships with organisations including Citizens Advice that gives individuals in York support with financial issues.
Aviva colleagues in York completed training as financial capability volunteers and will see clients at Citizens Advice York monthly. Additionally, Aviva colleagues have volunteered to support the Citizens Advice York office, including the development of a social media strategy to engage more people in need with available resources and support.
York Cares
York Cares partners with some of the city’s leading employers who are committed to making York a better place through employee volunteering. Aviva is one of the founding members of York Cares. In 2024, over 790 employee volunteers from Aviva were involved in York Cares projects. Collectively, Aviva employee volunteers spent over 550 working days volunteering with York Cares. Aviva colleagues donated almost 1,400 items through York Cares campaigns and gave over 150 hours to reducing loneliness and social isolation. Aviva supported over 450 pupils through the Aspirations programme. 57 teams from across Aviva took part in Community Challenges through the Environment & Sustainability programme.
Protecting and restoring nature
Wild Ingleborough project
Between 2021 and 2024, Aviva and WWF partnered together to restore UK landscapes and build healthier, more resilient communities. This included restoring peatlands, woodland and heathland – all crucial for carbon sequestration and biodiversity - as part of the Wild Ingleborough project in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. Together with the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Aviva and WWF planted more than 57.000 trees to connect areas of woodland, restored over 360 hectares of land to conserve critical habitats and installed 9 natural flood management interventions, The restoration was carried our with the input and support of local farmers, landowners and volunteers, developing a model for community-led upland restoration that can be applied across the UK.
Floating ecosystem
Working with the environmental charity St Nicks, Aviva has helped fund a project to create a floating ecosystem on the River Ouse. This innovative habitat is located near North Street Gardens and is designed to support local wildlife and improve water quality. It hosts between 20 and 30 different plant species, providing shelter for small mammals, nesting birds, and a feeding ground for fish. The ecosystem was installed as part of the York Cares Big Community Challenge in October 2024.
More sustainability in action
See how we’re helping to regenerate the places where we live and work.
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Bristol
We're helping to protect and restore nature, and improve employability prospects across Bristol and Gloucestershire.
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Eastleigh
We're helping to strengthen financial resilience, invest in housing and infrastructure, and improve employability prospects across Eastleigh and Southampton.
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Norwich
We're investing in housing and infrastructure, and helping strengthen financial resilience, improve employment prospects, support climate adaptation and protect and restore nature across Norwich and Norfolk.
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Perth
We're helping to improve employability prospects across Perth and Tayside.
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Sheffield
We're helping to improve employment prospects, strengthen financial resilience, protect and restore nature, and invest in housing and infrastructure across Sheffield and South Yorkshire.
