M&S IT team and suppliers back Plan A volunteer day
‘Selfiebot’ made from recycled IT equipment helps inspire academy students
Over 600 IT experts from the Marks & Spencer (M&S) IT department and its supplier companies volunteered today to help local community projects across London and the South East.
Employees from big names such as Microsoft, Cognizant and SAP supported the M&S team, which included IT Director Darrell Stein, in activities that included:
- 75 volunteers mentoring 200 residents from 24 Abbeyfield care homes helping them enjoy the social benefits of going online;
- 400 volunteers planting 10,000 new trees at Heartwood Forest in St Albans with the Woodland Trust;
- 140 recently trained STEM (Science Technology and Maths) Ambassadors promoting IT to the next generation in 15 schools.
Hundreds of laptops were also collected, recycled and left with the schools and care homes the M&S teams visited. IT equipment that couldn’t be re-used was broken down and made into a ‘Selfiebot’ – a robot-like sculpture that takes instant ‘selfies’ of people that pose with it.
The sculpture was used to help inspire the Stockley Park Academy students that visited the M&S IT office in Uxbridge for a mentoring event and will be used throughout the year as a mascot to recruit more volunteers.
M&S employees Trisho Patel and Tolulpe Obassa with the Selfiebot
And the selfie!
Darrell Stein, IT Director of Marks & Spencer said: “Today’s seen a superb effort from the team in what must be one of the biggest ever volunteering events in the IT industry. Our people and suppliers have inspired both young and old using their IT skills and we’ve made a difference where it matters, in local communities. For me personally, to get a group of 90 year olds surfing the internet with an iPad was a great experience and something that will stay with me for some time.”
Full list of M&S suppliers that took part: Cognizant, Microsoft, RDC, ReThink, SAP, Logicalis and Tata Consultancy Services.
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Plan A
Plan A is Marks & Spencer’s eco and ethical programme that aims to make M&S the world’s most sustainable major retailer by 2015. Launched in 2007 and extended in March 2010, it takes a holistic approach to sustainability focusing on involving customers, involving all areas of the business and tackling issues such as climate change, waste, raw materials, health and being a fair partner.
Further information
Daniel Himsworth, Marks & Spencer Press Office
0208 718 1618
[email protected]