Our staff play a vital role in helping to support the local community. We actively encourage staff to volunteer in a number of ways, such as organising charity fundraising events, taking part in educational activities with local students and team-building challenges in the community.

We also offer financial support to staff involved in their own fundraising activities and special leave arrangements for employees who want to spend a longer time on a worthwhile charitable cause.

Recent examples of projects in which our employees have been involved are:

• 25 staff members from Heathrow's Airside Operations department spent two days over Easter 2007 painting Bedfont Junior School, south of the airport. The team organised for the paint - and refreshments - to be donated by companies at the airport.
• Two teams of firefighters from Heathrow and Gatwick spent five hours rowing against each other for charity in the departures area of Terminal 4. Each team rowed 84,000 metres (52 miles) which is the exact distance between the two airports. They raised £2,500 for Children in Need and Naomi's House Children's Hospice.
• A number of staff from across the airport are involved in the Heathrow School Readers scheme. The scheme involves members of staff going into local primary schools on a weekly basis to help individual children develop their literacy skills and build their confidence.

During the last financial year, 451 staff (12.8 % of our workforce) got involved in some kind of community activity during the course of the year.