7945_42-45_270809.qxd:42-45 20/08/2009 16:44 Page 42
TIME OUT
‘Itdoesn’thavetobeahugetime
commitment.Timelyadvicecan
sometimestakehalfanhouroranhour’
TheIrish
Volunteer
As an increasing number of business alumni are following the urge to give something back, many are
finding that the particular skill sets of a business education are in particularly high demand in the
voluntary sector
O
FFERING expert advice on corporate governance dedicatedtoraisingawarenessofenterpriseamongyoungpeople
and management strategy, or teaching young peo- by bringing business volunteers into schools to teach a series of
pleleadershipandentrepreneurialskills–theseare classesonbusiness-relatedtopics.“Whatit’stryingtodoisbridge
notnecessarilythefirstactivitiesthatcometomind thegapbetweenschoolandbusinessand,ifnothingelse,trying
when we think about volunteering. However, as to get children to stay on longer in school,” explains Murphy.
severalofourbusinessalumnicantestify,theseare “These kids are not necessarily seeing people with a business
theveryskillsthatcanmakeatransformativelong-termimpact background because of their own economic circumstances.
on charities and not for profits, and they are skills that are in You’resomethingdifferentforthemtolatchonto.”
greatdemand.Andthoseinfull-timeemploymentwhoarecon- Sofar,Murphyhastaughtaprogrammeofclasses–anhour
sideringgivingsomethingbackshouldnotbeputoffbythetime a week over six weeks – to 10 and 11 year olds at a school in a
commitments involved. An hour or so of considered advice can disadvantagedareainDublin.“Itfeelseasybecauseyou’rejust
beworthmorethanyouthink. sharingyourownexperience,withsomeverygoodmaterialsto
Colm Murphy (BComm 92, MAcc 93) took his first steps make it interactive and give it structure,” he explains. “My
into volunteering when he became involved with Junior intentionwastodosomecharitywork,butgoingofftoSouth
Achievement Ireland last autumn, shortly after setting up his Africa for two or three weeks or trekking the Himalayas, that
ownbusinessandbecomingafathertothreeyoungchildren.“It just wasn’t feasible. This was doable in terms of my time
was a combination of having a bit more time and becoming commitment.”
moreawareoftheimportanceofeducationandgettingachance
inlifeafterhavingmyownkids,”heexplains.“Itmademewant The gift of management
tostepupandactuallygivesometimetoit.” CatherineSmith(BBLS97),aself-employedconsultantcurrently
Junior Achievement is part of an international organisation contracted to BearingPoint, volunteered during university and
Robert Mulhall
42 UCD BUSINESS CONNECTIONS
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