BOOST: a project of non-financial support to organisations

Since 2015, the P&V Group and the P&V Foundation have been organizing the project "BOOST," which provides P&V Group colleagues the opportunity to offer their professional expertise to one of the many social (youth) organizations within the P&V Foundation network, contributing to their personal development as well.

BOOST stands for 'Be Our Organizations' Support Team' and is primarily a volunteer project. Volunteers support the chosen organizations in various ways, each according to their skills. This has included legal advice on the statutes of non-profits or their insurance contracts, IT assistance, financial strategy advice, help in creating brochures, or organizing workshops.

In this video (in French and Dutch), our colleagues and some organisations talk about the BOOST project and what it brings to them mutually:

 

The organizations helped are winners in more than one way …

Because the volunteers are very motivated, it is a win-win situation that clearly benefits the social organizations they work with. Besides the networking advantages, the collaboration prompts organizations to reflect on their internal working methods. This allows them to better understand their strengths and weaknesses, leading to more efficiency. The presence of P&V Group employees helps tackle certain challenges without having to call on external expertise.

Through the approach of the P&V Group and the BOOST program, social organizations appreciate the volunteers' efforts and commitment at their true value. For them, the collaboration is a real partnership.

And colleagues develop new skills through volunteering

The volunteers are very enthusiastic, which has many positive effects. They develop new skills such as problem-solving and creative thinking. Additionally, BOOST helps break down sectoral barriers and work across different areas. By creating connections outside the usual work environment, potential prejudices disappear, and a better understanding of diversity and inclusion emerges. This fosters a positive feeling about the pursuit of meaning and connection, particularly with the cooperative values of the P&V Group, which has been working for a more inclusive society since its inception. 

Since the launch of the BOOST project in 2015, more than 100 colleagues (in teams of 3-4 colleagues per project) have worked with 25 organizations, representing over 5,000 hours of volunteering. Many organizations have participated in a BOOST project for several years, each time with a new challenge. And for many colleagues, the commitment continues beyond one project.

Discover the collaborations within the BOOST project in this YouTube playlist.