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At TELUS International Ireland, we understand the relationship between the well-being of our communities and the success of our company. That’s why we give where we live.

Our team members are the driving force behind our caring culture. Through our passion for supporting local communities, we volunteered 15,000 hours globally in 2020. While our Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives run throughout the year, our TELUS Days of Giving events are the focal point. The last time we came together as a large group in 2019, more than 350 members of our Irish team volunteered at Down Syndrome Cork’s Field of Dreams facility, working to expand their collaborative horticultural and training space, and plant a commercial pumpkin patch, all in one day.

Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

Our team members decide on our charity partners, ensuring we select the causes closest to their hearts. This year we will partner with Aware, an organisation that provides support for people with depression or bipolar disorder; and My Lovely Horse Rescue, which rescues, rehabilitates and rehomes unwanted, neglected and abused animals. TELUS International Ireland has also committed to covering the cost of the animal feed required for the charity’s Cork rescue centre for the next year. Once physical-distancing restrictions are lifted, our team members are keen to work directly with these charities.

Virtual Kilimanjaro

This year, our team has committed to a fundraising walk up Kilimanjaro – virtually, of course. Working with Conqueror Virtual Challenges, 300 team members will each walk 97km over two weeks, tracking their progress on an app. While TELUS International will provide a significant pot to be shared by our two charity partners, our team members will seek further donations and sponsorship, bringing people from our wider community into our culture of giving. For every 20% of the journey that team members complete, Conqueror Virtual Challenges will plant a tree, meaning that five trees will be planted for every team member who reaches the virtual summit of Kilimanjaro. This equates to 1,500 trees if all of our team members complete the challenge.

Keeping It In The Community

In addition to working alongside our main charity partners, we always try to find ways of supporting other community groups. This year, we have worked with the Rainbow Club, a charity based close to our Cork headquarters that supports children and teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and we’ve also supported Inner City Helping Homeless and Cork Penny Dinners.

The environment is important to our team, and the community garden at our site in Cork allows us to work together to learn about nature, grow vegetables, and contribute directly to the biodiversity of the Mahon area. This year, we committed to supporting the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan and introduced beehives containing over 60,000 native Irish honey bees. With a bumper crop of produce from our garden, we’ve been able to donate fresh, organic food too, and our in-house horticultural therapist, Ciara Parsons, has been making regular bike trips to deliver fruit and vegetables to the Rainbow Club.

In Association with

Going forward, we are excited to build upon the success of our CSR programme and deepen our connection with the local community. Our community is our home, and together we can make it a better place for everyone.

Photo: Team members taking part in the ‘TELUS Day of Giving’ at the Down Syndrome Cork’s Field of Dreams site (Pic: Michael O'Sullivan)