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By studying London's approach, Bron was seeking to garner benchmarks that could advance efforts to create a similar system for his home city of Paris. Back in France, Bron, along with Bain colleague Joelle de Montgolfier, had already begun to pursue such work on behalf of the Fondation Pour L'Enfance, the Foundation for Childhood, a group dedicated to the needs of children and run by the former first lady of France, Anne-Aymone Giscard d'Estaing.

Oliver Bron & Joelle de Montgolfier, Bain & Company

“In order to do the best job we could, we needed to benchmark another country where the relative numbers and organization were comparable,” says Bron, who estimates that he gives about eight hours of personal time to the project each week — no small feat, given the work/life challenges of today's consulting world. Still, the secret behind Bron's volunteer time management formula is one he shares with other consulting volunteers. Simply stated: Choose work that can be pursued a short radius from your professional and private lives.

SH: A Stone's Throw

For Roger Mullen of Booz Allen Hamilton, that radius led to the sea, where he today manages a curriculum and diving program for children who are wheelchair-bound. Known as Stay-Focused, the not-for-profit entity was nothing more than a passing notion four years ago, when Mullen and his paraplegic older brother, Bobbie, set off from the Caymans on a dive boat.

“Diving gives people a tremendous sense of freedom … and it occurred to me on the boat that diving was something that kids in wheelchairs should experience,” says Mullen, who soon approached two dive instructors with the idea of creating a program that could secure diving certification for children in wheelchairs. From there, Mullen's concept quickly expanded as he envisioned a broader mission for Stay-Focused.

“It took a couple of years to position myself personally and professionally, and to organize it in such a way that I could hold on to my position at Booz Allen, and also get the firm to support what we were doing,” says Mullen, who now divides his time evenly between his jobs as director of career manage

ment at Booz Allen and head of Stay-Focused. In addition to offering some funding, Booz Allen has allotted Mullen office space and technical expertise — such as that which helped create the group's Web site.

“If our fundraising efforts are successful, in two years we could be seeing anywhere between 16 and 32 kids pass through the program,” says Mullen, who explains that the concept for Stay-Focused surfaced when he was at a point in his career where he was searching for satisfaction beyond traditional career goals. Clearly, not all consultants can redirect the amount of time Mullen now gives to Stay-Focused, but for those who battle the clock daily, the distance between consulting work and giving back may be just a single idea away.

SH: Finding Synergies With Work

Jack Kelley, Katzenbach Partners

Take Jack O'Kelley of Katzenbach Partners. Known as Rusty to his friends, Kelley has found little time this summer to crack open a best-seller or even sample a dose of reality television. O'Kelley's involvement in volunteerism begins with membership on a number of boards, including those of New Yorkers for Children, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and the Young Lions, a part of the New York Public Library.

“Consultants can really make a difference in giving their time to charitable organizations,” begins O'Kelley, who is a consultant with Katzenbach Partners in New York City. “The impact that we can make on helping an organization think through a project, an initiative, and its own mission can have long-term direct benefits.”

One such project that O'Kelley did for the Appleseed Foundation, an organization dedicated to taking on local issues to achieve national goals, allowed him to strike a balance between the work he does for a living and the work he does for free. He created a questionnaire for Appleseed concerning health insurance, which just happens to be his area of expertise.

Carrie Shea, Archstone, in the lake Forest Open Lands

Carrie Shea, a practice leader at Archstone Consulting and mother of three children, is involved with both both the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the Lake Forest Open Lands Association

“The types of problems that a not-for-profit organization has are very often financial,” says Shea. “So the financial skills, the business development skills that you learn in consulting, are very applicable in helping these organizations raise money. The American Cancer Society, on whose Chicago-chapter board Shea sits, lets her work in the two areas she feels most strongly about: the early detection and prevention of cancer.

“It makes you realize what's really important,” says Shea. “With the ACS, you're surrounded by people whose lives have been devastated by cancer, and they are trying to go on, keep their heads up, and survive.”

SH: Leverage Your Network

Shea's advice to others is: “Involve your families and involve your clients in your charities. I am a huge believer in that. It's the only way to make it work.”

Lake Forest Open Lands is a family organization, and Shea brings her children to many of the events. Not only does she get to spend some quality time with them doing something constructive, but also the kids become involved in community projects at an early age, learning just what it means to give back. They help to plant trees, clean up the land, and take part in the educational programs that the association offers.

As for her clients, Shea has invited them to events that the American Cancer Society has sponsored. One event, which she helps to organize, flies in chefs from all around the world. “We typically buy a table at that event,” says Shea, “and then I can bring clients so that I can combine it with some of the business development activity for work. And that helps to ease the time burden.”

David Walke, Find/SVP

For David Walke, CEO of Find/SVP, a research-driven advisory firm, the chance to become involved in a charity organization rested in part on the opportunity's timing.

“This is something that came to me at the right point in my life, for the right reason, and I feel that everybody who has an opportunity such as this should pursue it,” he says, when asked about his board membership with the Westchester chapter of Gilda's Club, an organization intended to be a support center for people living with cancer as well as their family and friends. Walke's involvement began three years ago, when a founder of the chapter asked him to become involved.

Today, Walke tries to attend every Friday board meeting. “I just try make the time, because people are counting on me,” he explains. When he goes to the club and sees people participating in the events — lectures, workshops, and exercise classes, all with the purpose of helping people deal with the illness — he is amazed at how much good the club can do. And as Walke prepares to attend Gilda's Gala, an important annual fundraising event, he doesn't hesitate to circulate invites using his career network of senior client contacts.

“Through my many years in consulting, I have made a lot of high-level contacts who have been very supportive of the group,” explains Walke.

Back in Paris, Bron and De Montgolfier are listening to a clock ticking, but this one has little to do with billable hours.

Statistically, the sooner a child is found, the better, explains de Montgolfier. As law enforcement officials well know, when a child is missing the first forty-eight hours are crucial. For Bron and de Montgolfier every second counts.

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