A new initiative being launched to coincide with this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week (13-19 May) aims to get UK employees moving more, while also making a positive fundraising impact to UK charities. Active Charity is set to revolutionise corporate philanthropy by rewarding employees with a monetary amount to donate to their chosen charities once a target of 150 minutes of physical movement per week has been met.
Research[i] indicates that 97% of employees are motivated to exercise more with colleagues, and 73% report being more productive throughout the day as a result of being active. By participating in the new Active Charity programme, businesses can positively enhance their social impact while also supporting employee health and wellbeing.
How Active Charity works:
- Employees are rewarded with a monetary donation, at the company’s discretion, per 150 minutes of physical movement over at least four days of the week – rather like a digital version of supermarket charity tokens.
- Funds are accumulated into a dedicated employee account, which can be regularly allocated to a charity of choice.
- Cumulatively enables businesses to make a more significant CSR impact.
- Unlike most physical wellbeing apps, the focus is on establishing commitment among users to lifelong behavioural change.
Active Charity is the brainchild of Total Active Hub, a leading health-tech business dedicated to promoting workplace employee engagement and wellbeing. This latest initiative forms part of its multi-pronged Movement for Good programme, which also includes, for example, Active Education and Active Trees. These initiatives provide movement-based incentives to support educational settings and contribute to environmental sustainability, respectively.
CEO and Founder of Total Active Hub, Tony Eames, says:
Active Charity enables employees to choose their own charitable cause, which will better motivate and spur them on in their physical challenges and achievements. With reports that one in four adults globally don’t achieve the minimum weekly 150 minutes of physical activity[ii], it will also further support our mission to mobilise the UK workforce and create extra value from all their exercising – a win-win situation!
Tony Eames, CEO and Founder of Total Active Hub
Last year alone, Total Active Hub planted more than 100,000 trees globally as part of its Active Trees initiative and covered the cost of more than 8,600 school meals for UK pupils through Active Education. Tony hopes Active Charity will complement these initiatives and raise a significant sum for UK charities over the next 12 months.
Georgia House, Sustainability Manager at South Western Railway, which is a key supporter of the programme and helping to officially launch Active Charity, says:
Active Charity not only promotes employee wellbeing through physical activity but also empowers our team to directly support causes they are passionate about. By connecting corporate philanthropy with personal wellness, we’re fostering a culture of giving that strengthens both our community impact and employee engagement.
Georgia House, Sustainability Manager at South Western Railway
For more information, please visit www.totalactivehub.com/solutions/corporate-social-responsibility.
[i] Total Active surveyed 406 respondents who used the Total Active Hub platform between Feb-23 to Jan-24
[ii] World Health Organisation
Joanne is the editor for Workplace Wellbeing Professional and has a keen interest in promoting the safety and wellbeing of the global workforce. After earning a bachelor's degree in English literature and media studies, she taught English in China and Vietnam for two years. Before joining Work Well Pro, Joanne worked as a marketing coordinator for luxury property, where her responsibilities included blog writing, photography, and video creation.