Lloyd’s home in the City is just minutes from some of London’s poorest boroughs. Lloyd’s Community Programme (LCP) was set up in 1989 to enable individuals and businesses within the market to make a positive contribution to the lives of their neighbours in these deprived areas.

Our employee volunteering programme began in earnest in 1994, when Swanlea secondary school in Tower Hamlets invited employees from across the Lloyd’s market to set up a reading scheme. A decade on, volunteers from Lloyd’s are still spending their lunch–hours helping students at Swanlea to improve their literacy.

Over the same period, the LCP has really achieved lift–off. In 2004, we had our highest ever number of volunteers, over 560; and we’re now working in more than 20 schools on a wide range of partnership projects, focusing on numeracy, IT and career guidance, as well as reading. What’s more, we’ve started to see some really exciting results.

Higher achievers and award winners

Over the last few years, academic results in Tower Hamlets have improved dramatically. In particular, one of our partner schools has performed astonishingly: Sir John Cass Foundation secondary came top of the government’s league table of schools for the most improved GCSE results since 2000.

Of course, LCP volunteers can only take a small part of the credit for these remarkable achievements on the part of students, teachers, parents and governors. But we’re proud to be involved in such an incredible success story.

And we’re delighted, too, that our efforts to be good neighbours have won increasing recognition from leading bodies within both the charity and insurance sectors:

• In June, Lloyd’s Community Programme won a Big Tick award in the national Business in the Community Awards for Excellence 2004
• In October, the LCP won the Lord Mayor’s Dragon Award for our innovative new Police Mentoring scheme
• In December, we picked up the Insurance Day award for Charitable Initiative of the Year

Onward and upward

But there’s absolutely no danger of us resting on our laurels. As the LCP continues to gain support and momentum, we’re constantly developing new projects designed to make an even bigger contribution to the quality of life in the deprived boroughs close to the City.

And, a decade on, volunteers continue to widen the scope of their work in schools, developing new ways of enriching children’s experience, from taking them on museum trips to organising sports activities, such as cricket coaching.

Through East London Business Alliance (ELBA), we’ve also become involved in community–based team challenges – one of which in 2004 involved 30 volunteers from across the Lloyd’s market redecorating a Tower Hamlets community centre.

Giving money as well as time

The Lloyd’s Community Programme now has 46 member companies (up from 38 in 2003) who paid subscriptions totalling over £100,000 in 2004. This has enabled us to continue to give much needed financial support to our four key voluntary sector Community Partners: Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership; the Royal National Theatre education project (which runs storytelling workshops for Tower Hamlets primary schools); East London Small Business Centre; and East London Business Alliance.

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