Canadian executives - and in some cases, employees - are boldly venturing out of their corner offices and cubicles into areas where few of them have gone before.

For them, the bottom line is not just about dollars and cents anymore.

It's now about real "corporate responsibility" - travelling to different parts of the world, volunteering their time to fight poverty, promote development and build economic capacity.

"Rather than looking to climb the corporate ladder, it's time to use our skills to climb the (social) cause ladder," says Aine Curran.

Daniel Alexander, Business Edge
Curran Events Media Inc. president Aine Curran is globe-hopping for a good cause.

Curran is president of Curran Events Media Inc., a Mississauga-based communications company that specializes in government and public relations. She's just one of the latest executives ready to leave the boardroom behind - temporarily.

Curran will travel to Tanzania this month on a Salvation Army mission, making stops in Rung'abure, Koleli, Kemange, Tarime, Moshi and Dar es Salaam. She will work on various projects, including a women's economic empowerment centre and HIV/AIDS orphans and vulnerable children programs.

Curran's enthusiasm and desire to help others is also echoed by others in the business sector - a trend that has led the Salvation Army in Canada to create a pilot program called Executive On A Mission. Other groups, such as the Toronto-based Canadian Executive Service Organization (CESO) and the Ottawa-based international development agency Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) Canada, also rely on executives and workers to serve as mentors, advisers and trainers on overseas projects.

"Over the years, I have always contributed to charities, albeit making cash donations and contributions. I just felt I need to go a bit deeper and be more hands-on with the cause," says Curran, who describes herself as a Type-A, hands-on businessperson.

"I have a number of vacations under my belt for the past 30 years of my life - going away for a week or usually two, coming back 10 pounds heavier, sunburnt and peeling - and this is really just a way to make my time off mean something."

The sentiment is also voiced by Horst Plaster of Vancouver, who has completed 16 overseas assignments for CESO, a non-profit organization with a network of representatives and project managers in 17 countries.

The now-retired veteran of the hotel industry - whose career included management stints at the Jasper Park Lodge in Alberta and running his own Vancouver restaurant - has travelled as a CESO volunteer adviser (VA) to Sri Lanka, where he helped reopen a hotel devastated by a tsunami.

Plaster has also assisted the owner of a rustic ski lodge in Georgia to make a restaurant and bar business profitable and used his skills at CESO's request in Armenia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Russia and Ukraine.

"Why am I doing it? One thing is to be able to keep on doing something that you know and it keeps you interested, you're making use of your experience. It's given me a new aspect of my life, really, and I also feel having come as an immigrant to this country, I want to give something back. It's very satisfying to say I'm from Canada and for people to recognize that there is a country that's out there to help."

Plaster is one of 2,700 VAs to whom CESO turns for help in sectors ranging from accounting to tourism, including engineering, manufacturing and information technology. CESO co-ordinates most of the paperwork, including visas, and provides a small per diem for incidentals. Its international client - which could be a company, a government or an NGO - covers flight, accommodation and meals for the VA, who could be onsite for one week to a couple of months.

Since its inception in 1967, CESO has carried out more than 20,000 international assignments in more than 70 countries. CESO has also completed more than 25,000 assignments within Canada through its regional and volunteer offices, with national programs that reach out to both Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals. However, these are usually of shorter durations.

While CESO has 40 years of experience, the Salvation Army is just beginning to tap the corporate marketplace when it comes to taking executives abroad. The Salvation Army in Canada manages approximately 140 overseas programs in nine countries around the world. Its outreach efforts include disaster relief, literacy training, economic empowerment and health care.

"This is something we're trying for the first time," says Andrew Burditt, the Salvation Army's territorial public relations director. "Aine Curran, the lady who will be going with our international development team, expressed a desire to do something like this. This was the stimulus for that idea - she inquired whether she could go with us on a trip."

Curran, who will cover her own expenses - she estimates the cost for the three-week period will be similar to what she would spend on a regular holiday - has also solicited funds from contacts to help support the mission. None of those funds will go to her personal costs, but will be used to help the Salvation Army to achieve its goals.

Meanwhile, VSO Canada's voluntary business partnerships program is geared to helping employees take time off - six to 12 months - to utilize their business and management skills to assist organizations and communities throughout the developing world. It covers flights, accommodation and insurance, and provides an accommodation allowance.

"We work in 34 countries overseas, predominantly in Africa and Asia," says Meaghon Dunphy, senior adviser, partnerships for VSO Canada. "Organizations in developing countries gain access to crucial business skills that can act as an engine for sustainable growth. We believe this is one of the most effective solutions to global poverty."

Participating companies also find employees returning from such work are more well-rounded and may have enhanced their skills.

VSO Canada has been supporting its business volunteers since 1999 and primarily works with the Canadian offices of Accenture, a U.S. consulting firm, and Randstad, an employee staffing agency based in the Netherlands.

"We have seen an upward trend in the numbers of volunteers who participate in the program each year with a sharp spike in 2007," says Dunphy. "We have also seen an increase in interest level for participating in this program in the future as a way of giving back."

(Laura Severs can be reached at laura@businessedge.ca)