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Many corporates want to use their time, talent, and expertise to make a positive difference in the lives of young people – but too often, the barriers to starting this work are too high. That’s why Impetus’ corporate partner offer streamlines this process, making volunteering easy.
Corporate volunteering, where professionals engage directly with young people, helps to bridge the gap between education and the world of work, particularly for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Impetus non-profit partners are working to ensure young people get the skills, qualifications, and opportunities they need to prepare for life after school, and exposure to different career paths through corporate partnerships can help them shape futures.
Through bespoke volunteering, Impetus’ corporate partners are creating direct connections that demystify professional environments and inspire ambition.
Corporate volunteering with Impetus
At Impetus, we’re experts in delivering high-impact volunteering programmes that work for everyone involved.
Across the last two decades we’ve facilitated volunteering opportunities for dozens of socially-minded organisations, benefitting thousands of young people. Last year alone, we delivered more than 40 workshops, with over 500 volunteer hours donated and nearly 300 young people engaged.
We ensure every opportunity is well-targeted, aligning our corporate partners’ priorities with the needs of the young people served by our portfolio of non-profit organisations.
As well as one-to-one tutoring and mentoring opportunities, we regularly host employability workshops in our donors’ offices. These sessions give young people practical CV and interview guidance from professionals with real-world corporate expertise, offering a glimpse into careers they may not have considered.
Volunteering events serve a dual purpose:
- For our partners: They help fulfil corporate social responsibility ambitions and build a culture of pride and purpose among employees.
- For young people: They open doors by demystifying the corporate world and providing valuable connections in aspirational workplaces.
Since our partnership with Brookfield kicked off in 2023, we’ve held several workshops at their sky-high offices in Canary Wharf. These events have engaged staff from across the business to mentor dozens of young people, with more sessions planned for 2026 and beyond.
But the team at Brookfield didn’t stop there – they saw an opportunity to create something even more transformative.
Science in action: a bespoke visit to Harwell Science and Innovation Campus
Brad Hyler, Co-President of the Real Estate Group at Brookfield, recognised a chance to deepen their impact: a once-in-a-lifetime experience that would allow young people to explore the UK’s top STEM organisations. Brad proposed a collaboration between Brookfield and Impetus to organise a visit to the Harwell Campus – the UK’s leading science and innovation hub and a joint venture between Brookfield and its public sector partners.
What better place than Harwell, where we have hundreds of companies and thousands of scientists and engineers working across STEM fields, to bring young people to see that and really get them excited about a career in that industry.
- Brad Hyler, Co-President of the Real Estate Group, Brookfield
At the same time, alignment with Impetus’ portfolio was clear: the Jon Egging Trust (JET), one of the charities Impetus supports, works specifically with young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to help them pursue careers in STEM. It was a picture-perfect partnership.
After careful planning led by Impetus’ in-house Engagement team, we brought thirty Year 10 students supported by JET, from two local schools, to Harwell for the day.
Guided by the on-site team at Harwell, the group was treated to an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of an art installation exploring the science of the human body. From there, the pupils split into smaller groups for personalised office visits to leading scientific organisations, including Moderna, Diamond, and the Rosalind Franklin Institute.
The day culminated in a hands-on challenge: the young people synthesised what they had learned by developing ideas for a new section of the art installation, considering what scientific concepts they would need to bring their ideas to life. Finally, they stepped out of their comfort zones to practice public speaking, presenting their ideas to a panel of expert judges from Harwell and Brookfield.
One of my favourite things I learned today was probably that I can get an apprenticeship here. Being able to know that I have more options that I can go into with science is very nice to know.
- Leighton, JET Pupil
Opportunities like this – where young people get to engage with learning beyond the classroom – can be truly transformational in shaping their ambitions. We’re grateful to Brookfield for enabling us to create such an inspiring day for the next generation of scientists and for showing the impact of innovative volunteering partnerships.
