In the course of her working day Candace Laing, an administrator of the ACE Foundation, usually has to read several memos, half a dozen e-mails and some funding applications.

But Friday afternoon for Mrs. Laing was different as it was story time in the ACE cafeteria. Primary student, Dajoun? Trott, had come to read Candace a story.

Five girls from Victor Scott Primary School came to the ACE headquarters to read stories. Allisha Joell, Dajoun? Trott, LaVonna Thomas, Trakeya Branman and Anneisha White to demonstrate that they love reading and that the books which have been donated to their school by ACE employees are being used and enjoyed.

Fourteen employees of ACE volunteered to come down to the cafeteria and listen to the children.

Victor Scott Reading Recovery teacher, Tracey Cochrane, explained that like most public primary schools, they have insufficient public funding to buy all the books that they need.

“We get some through Literacy Place, but there is never enough reading material.”

Donors such as ACE and Renaissance Re came to the school’s aid this year with grants for books. ACE’s Madeline Joell Nest Egg Fund supports the “Reading Counts” programme.

This provides “levelled readers” – books graded for various reading abilities. After completing a reader, the child is tested on comprehension of the material though an interactive computer programme before being able to progress to the next level.

Despite the generosity of donors such as ACE, there is still a demand for more books at Victor Scott. “Many of these children do not have books at home,” explains Ms Cochrane; there is still a need for more books that they children can borrow and take home to read.

Ms Cochrane thinks that the visit to ACE had a dual purpose; firstly it allowed ACE employees to see how their donations have been spent, and secondly it gave the children exposure to new experiences. They have also done a reading visit to a nursery and will be going to the hospital and other businesses in the future.

One child was very impressed by the ACE offices and exclaimed: “Wow, I’d like to work here”.

Candace Laing and Erin Field of the ACE Foundation say they were delighted when the school came up with the suggestion of a visit, agreeing it is a great way for ACE employees to see what some of the foundation money is doing in the community.

It can be a challenge for charity administrators to get their fellow employees actively involved in the company’s good causes.

Mrs. Laing and Ms Field said although it is not always easy to tear an employee away from their desk during the day, it’s important to offer opportunities for employees to get involved. At ACE, they invite charities to come and give lunchtime presentations and they also have schemes such as Employee Matching Gift Programmes and the Gift for Time Programme which offer incentives for employees to undertake their own fundraising efforts.

For organisations, such as ACE, who make substantial donations to various local charities, responsibilities as donors go far beyond simply writing a cheque.

“You talk to them, you ask them what do you need and you listen,”says David Lang, of the Bank of Bermuda Foundation.

As well as running the Bank of Bermuda Foundation, Mr. Lang is a director of the Centre for Philanthropy. He says that there are three stages of charitable giving for companies, beginning with writing a cheque, assessing an application and getting to know a charity and getting employees active.

In the ‘actively engaged’ stage, it may even be possible for your employees to offer business expertise to a charity. If they need help with running their accounts, for example, you might help them to find a chartered accountant.

Mr. Lang sees this level of involvement as highly desirable, saying: “You want to be firmly plugged in to that organisation so that you can keep an eye on your investment… That’s what they are, they are substantial sums and not just donations.”