New innovative initiative aims to boost both employee wellbeing as well as fundraise for their favourite charities

• Corporate health and wellbeing programme encourages commitment to lifelong behavioural change.
• Programme supports forthcoming Mental Health Awareness Week (13-19 May): ‘Movement: Moving more for our mental health’.

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.
• Encourages employees to participate in long-term physical movement programmes to improve both physical and mental health.
• 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.

The multifaceted Movement for Good approach allows businesses to choose from a variety of options that best suit and motivate their employees, while also making a positive difference to society.

CEO and Founder of Total Active Hub, Tony Eames, says: “The focus for this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is ‘moving more for our mental health’, which is very much complimentary to the wellness aspect of our Movement for Good programmes. It also provides a fitting time to launch Active Charity, which aims to harness the collective energy of employees to create a lasting impact on causes that matter to them most.

“Active Charity adds a new dynamic to our existing programme, by enabling 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!”

“As remote working becomes increasingly common, Active Charity also serves as a great way to unify colleagues and foster team rapport and spirit through healthy competition, regardless of their location.”

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.

He adds: “All our research indicates that employees are more motivated by intrinsic, internal rewards, as opposed to simply putting their hands in their pockets and handing over cash. For example, 96% of employees we surveyed[iii] agreed that having a daily tree planted as a reward motivated them to move more.

“So, whether it’s helping to raise funds to plant a tree, provide a school meal to those children in need, or donate to a charity of their choice, it’s the unifying aspects of Movement for Good – being engaged and active – that are key to motivation.”

The Movement for Good programme can be accessed via the Total Active Hub digital app, which offers a personalised dashboard for employees, providing real-time insights to help keep them – and their employer – on track. It also enables them to monitor their goals, set both individual and team challenges, and compete with colleagues. There are currently users logged in more than 90 countries globally, with high-profile organisations in the UK already taking the lead, including Southwestern Railway, Acer and Lloyds Bank. For more information, please visit www.totalactivehub.com/solutions/corporate-social-responsibility.