Burges Salmon marks Volunteering Week with record engagement and community impact

We are marking Volunteering Week (1–7 June 2026) by celebrating record engagement across the firm’s volunteering programme and the success of a major fundraising challenge supporting Bristol‑based youth charity Young Bristol.

Over the 2025/2026 financial year, 57% of our people took part in volunteering, contributing to a total of 25,524 volunteering and Pro Bono hours delivered between 2021 and 2026. This exceeds the firm’s five‑year strategic target of 25,000 hours and reflects sustained engagement across its Bristol, London and Edinburgh offices.

Activities during the year ranged from one‑off volunteering days and team projects to longer‑term commitments including mentoring, coaching, and tutoring.  Our programme is guided by the firm’s Responsible Business pillars – People, Places and Planet – with a key focus on advancing social mobility, opening opportunities, and supporting underrepresented communities.

One recent highlight was the firm’s 25for25 fundraising challenge, which has raised more than £33,000 for Young Bristol, the city’s leading provider of community‑based youth services for people aged 8–25. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Young Bristol’s Pooles Wharf Outdoor Activity Centre in July 2025, more than 240 people from across Burges Salmon took part in a 25‑hour continuous canoe relay along the River Avon and Bristol Docks. Participants, many in fancy dress, were supported throughout by instructors and volunteers from Young Bristol. The original fundraising target of £25,000 was exceeded thanks to donations from colleagues, clients and the wider public.