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Employee and Community Wellbeing
Community Day
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 Foundation’s community programs “encourage engagement with the communities in which we interact, recognising our accountability for what we take, create and leave behind.”
Community Day, our global community program, was established in 1996 to provide Lend Lease people with the opportunity to give back to the communities in which we live and work.
The original idea was for employees to volunteer in soup kitchens. This concept was broadened, giving employees the opportunity to contribute their time, energy, enthusiasm and skills to community projects and causes around the world.
Increasingly, Community Day projects have become strategically aligned to Lend Lease’s universal focus on sustainability with projects addressing social, economic and environmental issues and opportunities. Employees are also encouraged to:
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 | Choose projects that have geographic, personal and professional relevance |
 | Collaborate with the community organisation to ensure support is given in a meaningful and relevant way |
 | Match employees’ skills with community projects and needs |
 | Look for projects where a community partnership already exists, or could be formed |
Since 1996 employees have volunteered close to 500,000 hours across many worthwhile community projects around the world. Each year employees eagerly anticipate Community Day, many valuing the first hand experience of ‘giving back’ to communities in need. Here are a number of examples of recent Community Day projects:
 Singapore
Singapore School for the Deaf
In 2009, 53 employees spent Community Day at Singapore School for the Deaf, setting up their library; establishing an educational garden; building furniture and painting some amazing new murals to brighten up their playground. In addition to Community Day, many employees work with Singapore School for the Deaf on a number of initiatives throughout the year, strengthening this partnership which began with Community Day in 2004.
Nashville, America
Fannie Battle
Nashville employees first supported Fannie Battle in 2009 and this is now evolving into a strong community partnership that is supported throughout the year, not just on Community Day. The Fannie Battle Day Home for Children is the second oldest Child Care center in America, and is focused on providing affordable child care for at-risk children. In 2010 a team of employees built a 'Victory Garden' on Earth Day, and then a contingent competed in the Music City Marathon to raise funds for the center. In 2009 one of our Nashville based employees commenced a voluntary three year term as a Fannie Battle Board Director.
Sydney, Australia
 Starlight Children’s Foundation
In 2009 a team of Lend Lease employees from the Liverpool Hospital project in Sydney partnered with the Starlight Children’s Foundation, helping to grant the wish of a young girl who was confined to a wheelchair. In a few short days the team built a backyard gazebo and wheelchair ramp – and made a special little girl’s wish come true. Lend Lease has supported Starlight in numerous ways since 2001, including through fundraising initiatives and employee engagement activities. This project is just one example of employees applying their skills to meet a need in the community, and of a Lend Lease community partnership that has evolved based on a range of initiatives. |
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 Dam regeneration project
Manly Warringah War Memorial Park (Manly Dam) is managed by Warringah Council and is one of Sydney’s largest freshwater lakes. The Dam is surrounded by 375ha of bushland – an important habitat for native animals. For the last seven years a team of around 60 Lend Lease volunteers have spent their Community Day working on a variety of projects, assisting park rangers in maintaining and upgrading the park’s facilities and surrounds to protect the natural environment. Lend Lease employee and Community Day Team Leader Geoff Dyer is a local resident, and has been running this project for many years. As Geoff says “...many of our volunteers are locals who visit this park with their families on a regular basis. This facility is vitally important in terms of environmental preservation, and is also a much-loved recreational facility.” This project is a fantastic example of Lend Lease employees supporting local communities.
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Harrow, United Kingdom
Red Balloon
In 2009 a team of UK based employees worked with Red Balloon – a community organisation supporting children who are bullied. Employees spent two days at Red Balloon’s Harrow facility, removing debris from the playground, gardening, building a retaining wall and making the environment more user friendly. The Red Balloon/Lend Lease partnership began six years ago and a number of employees have supported this community organisation via a range of initiatives over the years. In 2010 a team of employees will return to the School to work on further improvements to this garden, and build a disabled access ramp.
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