WH Smith PLC

WH Smith Trust Logo

Supporting local communities and education for everyone

The WHSmith Trust is a registered charity (registered charity no. 1013782) with two principal objectives:

To support the local communities in which WHSmith staff and customers live and work and;
To support education and lifelong learning, helping people of any age to achieve their educational potential.

Board of Trustees
The WHSmith Trust is managed by a board of trustees, which is made up of members of staff from across the WHSmith Group. The trustees meet every two months to determine overall policy, review Trust activity and resources and consider grant applications. The Trust's administrative costs are met by WHSmith plc. In meeting its commitment to the Trust, WHSmith plc provides:

Staff costs plus related office and administration overheads.
Considerable support from Group Communications on the marketing and promotion of activities.

Each trustee has responsibility for encouraging the full involvement and support of their individual business in the activities of the Trust. All trustees undertake the role in a voluntary capacity and have a genuine interest in the voluntary sector.

Trustee Meeting Dates for 2010

2 February 2010
28 April 2010
14 June 2010
24 August 2010
26 October 2010
7 December 2010

WHSmith Trust Grant Summary
Summary of grant-making activity

Contact Details
If you would like further information on any aspect of the WHSmith Trust's work or grant-making criteria, please contact:

Secretary
WHSmith Trust
Greenbridge Road
Swindon
SN3 3LD

Tel: 01793 562824
Email: whsmithtrust@whsmith.co.uk

Grants to local charities in which members of staff are directly involved
Our staff are great ambassadors for the Company and the WHSmith Trust is proud to provide grants to support the excellent voluntary efforts of WHSmith staff in the communities in which we operate. A great many members of staff are involved in their community on a personal basis and a large number of stores are involved collectively as a team while others may see this as an opportunity to really get behind a local cause.

Grants will only be made to registered charities with which a WHSmith employee has direct involvement.
The trustees will only consider one grant request per employee per year.
The Trust will match employee fundraising up to £1000.
Grants for larger sums will be subject to the trustees' discretion.

Unfortunately the Trust cannot provide support for everything. The following types of beneficiary fall outside our criteria for support:

Party political organisations
Religious organisations
Military organisations
Individuals
Third-party fund raisers (e.g. Children in Need/Comic Relief)
Disaster Funds
Overseas charities or projects
Expeditions or overseas travel
Advertising

NB. Amendments to these criteria are at the discretion of the trustees.

Supporting employee volunteering - Volunteers in Schools
The Trust's 'Volunteers in Schools' scheme aims to support members of staff who are regularly involved as representatives on either a school's governing body, or Parent Teacher Association.WHSmith employees can apply for a grant if they work for any part of WHSmith in the UK on a permanent contract, and regularly volunteer for a minimum of 4 hours per month in the activities of a local school.

There are two fixed level grants:

£250 - for employees involved in a support group (ie PTA, League of Friends) or general fundraising
£500 - for employees involved in the management of the school (ie governor, treasurer etc.)

Supporting employee volunteering - Community challenges
The WHSmith Trust supports WHSmith employees participating in team community challenges to complete a specific task to benefit a local school or charity. A task could include redecorating a school playground or organising a Christmas party for disadvantaged children.

Employees taking part in team challenge volunteering activities are entitled to apply for up to £250 per project to cover the cost of materials or equipment used in the challenge eg paint, plants, paint brushes, minibus hire.

Supporting employee volunteering - Marathons
The WHSmith Charitable Trust reserves a number of places each year for the London Marathon and the Great North Run. Places are available to WHSmith staff who are raising money for the Trust. More details are communicated to employees in the months before each race.