How to Create Real Magic This Festive Season

When I started at Pilotlight, the word people used most often to describe our work was magic. We bring talented people from the business world together with leaders from charities, and the transformation that happens is often unexpected and profound. We've seen people like Rose from BlackRock get involved in a project with the Salford Foundation, and she found it so humbling that she called it "inspirational." 

It’s easy to dismiss magic as something that isn't real. I recently watched Aladdin again, and it struck me how the magic carpet ride wasn’t just about spectacle—it was about seeing the world from a new perspective. That’s what real magic feels like: when things shift in ways you never imagined possible. 

This kind of real magic happens every day through skills-based volunteering. You use your professional expertise to support a cause, and in the process, you also change. We call it "learning by doing good." We've seen staff from KPMG shift from simply volunteering with the charity We Are Survivors to becoming true allies for those who have experienced trauma. 

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This focus on giving yourself has another important benefit: it’s a powerful route to well-being. Research last year by William Fleming at the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford found that, unlike many other employee well-being interventions, volunteering is the only one that consistently suggests positive effects on workers' mental health. As Sally Bailey, former Chair of Pilotlight, says, “helping others helps us to feel better ourselves.” 

A common driver in all of this is humility—that state of being open that is so core to deeper learning. The festive season is a time for giving, but true giving isn't just about money or time; it's about giving yourself. The late David Boyle, author of The Tyranny of Numbers and an early trustee of Pilotlight, once told me that one reason we were founded was because we need a better form of giving in the world. He saw that people who want to help often have a blind spot for how their efforts can accidentally displace others' own initiative and leadership. 

As we step through the Autumn towards winter, whether for your company that is a focus on Christmas, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice or just the New Year, consider the most magical gift of all: giving confidence and capability. The time is right as it is a season when most people think about charities. So, to step ahead, companies can look beyond the usual frolics of staff parties and explore with Pilotlight the scope for events for skills-based volunteering. 

This is an opportunity to create a different kind of magic—one that's real, lasting, and transformative for everyone involved.