Would your business do this?

A company shows its values by how it treats individuals and this story of a young man with autism and how Asda has changed his life is more inspirational than many CSR reports

Sometimes when I say that we work with companies that want to change the world I think it sounds a bit pretentious but I really believe that every company and everybody can change the world as changing the world starts with changing the world for one person. For all the big campaigns linked to Corporate Social Responsibility sometimes it’s the individual stories that are most powerful particularly when they show a business thinking rather than following the rules.

I was listening to the radio the other day when I heard this story. A young man with autism, James Corker, has had his life changed by Asda. As a toddler he fell in love with their vans and they have now named a van after him. As well as being welcoming in the store, when he was old enough he started going to the van depot, is allowed to get in the vans, and now does work experience.

An Asda van drove him to his school prom and he had his 18th birthday party at the van depot. His mother says that without all this she is sure he would have been much less communicative and less happy – she believes it has ‘changed his life’.

One company that instead of ignoring a small child and then thinking only of issues with health and safety found ways to involve him and in so doing has changed a life.

( you can see him and his van here in the coverage of the story in The Sun).

I am sure that the drivers and staff have also benefited from the joy that James feels. On Valentine’s Day which is all about love I’m now thinking are there things we can do to change just one life – that’s how most change happens, one step at a time.

Other blogs you might enjoy about changing lives:

Three reasons to do good in a business

Working together to change the world

Share This Page:

Tags: csr values

Find entries by tag

Would your business do this?

Comments