With such a large number of employees across the Telstra Group, we have a unique opportunity to contribute to the communities in which we live and work.
We encourage our people to get involved in our core sustainability programs by using their volunteering leave.
We also provide emergency response leave and paid blood donor leave to employees donating with the Australian Red Cross Blood Service.
For more on our commitment to the community, read the Connecting Communities section of our Sustainability report.
When Telstra’s Local Area Board for Gippsland in Victoria, met to discuss how they could contribute to their local communities outside of their day-to-day work, the choice to support the Fernbank community in Gippsland felt like an obvious one.
Loretta Willaton, the Board’s Chair (and Telstra’s Area General Manager for the region) says the team was eager to give back to the community after a recent bushfire, during which the local CFA fought hard to protect Telstra’s exchange building and maintain communications to the area.
“Many CFA volunteers in the area lost property and livestock in the fires while they were helping protect our exchange building, so we really wanted to show them our appreciation,” Loretta says.
On the day, around 40 Telstra employees, friends and family turned up to help repair fences damaged by the fire.
Martin Blennerhassett, Telstra’s General Manager Major Projects and Program Management said he was thrilled by the support from the broader Telstra team.
“The Telstra effort galvanised local community groups and local businesses. Many of these groups also participated to make the day a huge success. Over the course of the day, we pulled down 10km of fence and erected over 10km of new fence for six affected local families. It just goes to show the impact we can have when we all band together,” Martin said.