Late last month, several employees from Lloyd’s pushed away from their computers and strapped on a hard hat for a full day spent building a home for a family in need.
Through the GTA chapter of Habitat for Humanity, Lloyd’s and several members of such organizations as Eagle Underwriting, Markel,
QBE,
Ironshore, Totten and Dion Strategic, came together in Brampton, Ont., to help provide a brighter future for several families who rely on the support that Habitat for Humanity provides.
“We’ve been associated with Habitat for Humanity for the last three years,” said Lloyd’s Canada president Sean Murphy. “We’re very happy to lend a hand to the less fortunate and make a direct contribution to those in need.”
The event underscored the Lloyd Canada’s commitment to its corporate social responsibility (CSR) program, which aims to make a social contribution to local communities and abroad. Whereas the company initially sent 20 volunteers in 2013, it now boasts 35 who are “very keen to participate.”
Murphy himself could be spotted wielding a hammer to help build a home for a family that escaped war-torn Iraq.
“It’s a real tangible experience,” he said. “You have a direct impact, you feel directly involved in helping others and it makes you feel good afterwards as well.
“And personally, it’s therapeutic as it helps relieve my stress when I start swinging hammers around.”
Lloyd’s has been involved in habitat for Humanity for three years, and Murphy says it’s a fulfilling part of the company’s social work.
“People who work in the industry are empathetic to begin with, and this allows us to be physically present and donate not just money, but also time,” Murphy said.
Eagle Underwriting, a partner with Lloyd’s, participated for the first time this year, and is eager to partake again in 2016.
“We’re in Brampton, and where we volunteered was not very far from the office, so we had a close community connection and enjoyed helping people locally,” said Chairman Bernie Cissek. “We definitely want to do it again.”
