John Keells Foundation (JKF) hosted Volunteer Recognition Day 2025 on 13th August 2025. This event, which has been held annually under the patronage of John Keells Group’s Chairperson since 2011, is organised in recognition of Group staff who volunteer their time and effort into the diverse projects and initiatives of JKF in the focus areas of Education, Community & Livelihoods, Social Health & Cohesion, and Biodiversity.
Speaking at the occasion, Krishan Balendra, Chairperson of the John Keells Group, emphasised the importance of volunteerism within the Group, noting how it has been a driving force behind the Foundation’s 20-year CSR journey. He reflected on initiatives such as the Cinnamon Rainforest Restoration and Kala Pola which stand as powerful examples of teamwork, unity, and community spirit, and commended the passion and commitment of volunteers who continue to make the Group’s CSR projects a reality. Noting how the positive energy generated by volunteerism enhances the quality of both individual and workplace health, he urged volunteers to share their experiences with their colleagues and encourage more to volunteer.
Carmeline Jayasuriya, the Group’s Head of CSR said, “The Foundation, resourced by a dedicated core team of just four members, delivers over 20 long-term strategic projects. In 2024/25, 1,837,676 persons were impacted through our CSR initiatives in various parts of the country. We owe the success of our wide-ranging and impactful initiatives to the passionate and dedicated volunteers from across the Group and the partner organisations that provide technical, implementation and monitoring support. We are grateful for the invaluable contributions of the Group’s senior management personnel who serve as Project Champions and Sector Coordinators, our tireless field teams, skilled volunteers who serve our projects as trainers and in areas such as Legal, Finance, and IT, management trainees who undertake special assignments, and our steadfast administrative support teams. Their collective passion, skills, and time are the driving force behind our mission to create lasting change in communities.”
In 2024/25, staff from across the Group dedicated their time and effort, contributing 4,891 hours of CSR volunteerism. During the year, several large-scale volunteer initiatives were organised, including the annual Kala Pola, which saw a near doubling of the number of volunteers compared to previous years; the award-winning Cinnamon Rainforest Restoration Project; Beach and Lagoon clean-ups conducted in partnership with other organisations. Skill based volunteer engagements included trainers in gender based violence and child abuse prevention, financial literacy, and panels of judges evaluating the presentations and speech competitions at the English Days hosted under the John Keells English Language Scholarship Programme.
In addition to recognition of volunteers under Gold, Silver and Bronze categories, outstanding contribution awards were presented to the Keells Food Products team for the John Keells Praja Shakthi Mushroom Cultivation project in Ja-Ela, the Group Finance team for a Financial Literacy training for female entrepreneurs in Ranala and the high-performing trainers under Project WAVE(Working Against Violence Through Education). Further, two special awards were presented to businesses steering longstanding and strategic CSR initiatives in collaboration with the Foundation, namely Infomate for their commitment to partnering the country’s first ever rural BPO project over 17 years; and the Group’s Transportation Sector for their sustained commitment over the past 19 years in partnering and sponsoring the Bachelor of Science degree programme in Transport and Logistics Management at the University of Moratuwa
Education, Community & Livelihoods, Social Health & Cohesion, and Biodiversity are the four focus areas of John Keells Foundation – the CSR entity of John Keells Holdings PLC (JKH), largest company listed on the CSE in terms of market capitalization operating over 80 companies in 7 diverse industry sectors. With a history of over 150 years, the John Keells Group provides employment to over 18,000 persons and has been ranked as Sri Lanka’s ‘Most Respected Entity’ for the last 20 Years by LMD magazine. JKH has placed first for the fourth consecutive year in the ‘Transparency in Corporate Reporting Assessment’ by Transparency International Sri Lanka. Whilst being a full member of the World Economic Forum and a participant of the UN Global Compact, JKH drives its CSR vision of `Empowering the Nation for Tomorrow’ through John Keells Foundation and through the social entrepreneurship initiative, ‘Plasticcycle’, which is a catalyst in significantly reducing plastic pollution in Sri Lanka.
