P&G employees and retirees have a long tradition of touching lives and improving life with their time and talents. We develop strong ties to the communities in which we live and work and focus on helping children in need live, learn and thrive.

Through our UK and Ireland Community Matters Programme, our chosen area of support is primarily assisting with the development of children in need, from birth to 13 years - in line with our Corporate Cause Live, Learn and Thrive. We also aim to support Educational; Health & Hygiene and Strategically Aligned Projects to those local communities in which we live and work.

We help our local communities by providing :

• people involvement
• funding, where appropriate
• product donations
• time and expertise
• business skills and resources

We also encourage our employees to pursue their own voluntary activities and to share their time and expertise to help establish sustainable benefits to our local communities.

Learn more about our UK and Ireland Community Matters Programme Objectives, Strategy, Principles and Guidelines
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P&G Bournemouth and Look Good...Feel Better
There are so many vital links in the Look Good...Feel Better charity chain but absolutely one key element is the fantastic support and dedication given by the P&G team in Bournemouth. Virtually since the first days of LGFB (12 years ago) P&G has committed to supporting the charity in the most powerful and invaluable way.

Look Good...Feel Better aims to improve the self-esteem of people undergoing cancer treatment. Each patient that attends the LGFB workshop receives a gift bag. The bag consists of 17 products, which the attendees are shown how to use during the workshop by make-up consultants (which include our own P&G Max Factor team) and the products are then theirs to take away and enjoy afterwards. Over the years the number of donated products has grown and the charity now needs 98,000 products a year - all of which are very generously donated to LGFB by member companies.

All 98,000 products are despatched from the various companies and sent to P&G Bournemouth, where Tanya Williams (affectionately known as the Look Good...Feel Better Technician) ensures they are logged in, data captured, stored in a special LGFB room in the warehouse and then finally picked and packed into patients' gift bags. So, foundation by foundation, eyeshadow by eyeshadow and lip liner by lip liner... Tanya makes sure that every bag is packed correctly and has the correct number of 17 products. Bags are produced for four different skin tones - light, medium, dark and extra dark and each foundation needs to get the right concealer - attention to detail is vital.

Finally, a network of over 45 hospitals then contact Tanya who couriers batches of boxes out to them. All this time, effort and expense is undertaken as a donation to LGFB from P&G.

To find out more about the charity Look Good...Feel Better, please visit www.lookgoodfeelbetter.co.uk

P&G and In-Kind Giving
This year the In Kind Direct (IKD)/ Procter & Gamble (P&G) partnership continues the tremendous work of distributing donations of toiletries to a vast number of charities and voluntary organisations in the UK. In 2007 alone, just under £1 million worth of goods have come from P&G, the equivalent of 431 pallets and more than 16 truckloads of goods.

IKD offer an invaluable service to charities and voluntary organisations, because donor companies and corporations, including P&G, supply a huge range of high quality surplus goods. Products are available through the IKD catalogue, recently available online due to a £25,000 sponsorship donation from P&G. This has made the ordering system far more efficient for all parties.

P&G was awarded In-Kind Direct's inaugural Founder's Award in 2006 for in-kind giving by HRH The Prince of Wales.

About In Kind Direct
In Kind Direct is a registered charity founded by HRH The Prince of Wales which distributes new quality products from manufacturers and retailers to a network of UK voluntary organisations (large and small) working at home and abroad.

For more information about In Kind Direct visit www.inkinddirect.org

Wella Professionals help win National Award for Excellence
One of the largest hairdressing companies in the UK, Francesco Group, has cemented its reputation for training excellence by winning the prestigious Merrill Lynch Raising Achievement in Young People Award at the eminent Business in the Community’s National Awards for Excellence.

Supported by the Department for Education and Skills, the Merrill Lynch Raising Achievement in Young People Award recognises companies that help to inspire young people to achieve their potential and raise levels of attainment. Francesco Group’s entry, entitled “Training excellence – real skills for the real world” was the result of a 3-way collaboration between Francesco Group, Walsall College of Art and Technology and Wella Professionals.

The Gala Awards, attended by 1700 people, honour the very best examples of excellence from businesses around the UK. Held on 2 nd July 2007 at the Royal Albert Hall, winners received their awards in the presence of HRH The Prince of Wales and the former Vice President Al Gore.

The 3-way collaboration was formed nine years ago when the Francesco Group Training Model of Excellence was implemented at Walsall College - where historically there had been poor student retention levels. This resulted in state-of-the-art Francesco Group salons being set up within Walsall College representing true commercial working environments - including structure, opening hours, revenue, customer service, client retention and financial targets - to equip students with real business skills for future employment. Today student retention rates are up to 96%, learner numbers have increased by over 1000% since programme conception and 95% of students progress to full time employment

Business Surpporter of the Year
Each year, one company is chosen for its exceptional investment in both Young Enterprise North East and the young people of the region. Procter & Gamble were deemed winners as we have continued to support YE programmes with the commitment of our employees who deliver the Primary and Secondary Programmes. Wendy Batley and Gill Hardy picked up the Business Supporter of the Year Award on behalf of P&G.

All three of our sites in the North East of England are involved in Young Enterprise and altogether we have about 38 volunteers involved currently. Between them we are working on about 80 Young Enterprise programmes in the region. We're not just involved in Young Enterprise - our Community Matters programme includes a large Business Ambassador programme and all P&G employees are given the opportunity to volunteer to take part in these programmes.

P&G: A History of Social Contribution
Learn how we help improve lives in communities where we live and work through support of humanitarian and social causes.

Download our 2007 Sustainability & Philanthropy Report (pdf)