Employee Engagement

Three emerging trends are likely to impact charitable giving during the biggest giving months of the year: September through December, when 50% of all donations are typically made to charities and nonprofits.

Common Impact, a nonprofit recognized as a national leader in skills-based volunteerism, is expanding its leadership team with the appointment of Tara Cardone as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Tara will be a key partner to Common Impact’s leadership team and Board of Directors as the organization shepherds in the next phase of growth in corporate skills-based volunteerism. This growth will help the organization meet increasing corporate and nonprofit demand for effective skilled volunteer and employee engagement solutions that deliver on business and community goals.

Xylem Watermark was involved in the immediate response in asking how they could help the people of Lombok after the devastation of the recent earthquakes that left the island devastated. Three AquaTowers were deployed with their support – bringing thousands of people access to clean, safe water. Thousands of families were evacuated to hillside camps after their homes were destroyed, living in tents without electricity or running water that are shared with many other families. The AquaTowers were deployed in the encampment areas so that the hundreds of families living here can have clean water during the challenging times ahead of rebuilding their homes and lives. Xylem has been working closely with disaster relief efforts to provide life changing impact to those in need across the globe.

Today’s workplace includes more generations than ever before – the Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, Millennials and Generation Zers together within a single company. As some workers choose to remain in the workforce and delay retirement, the next generation is beginning their careers.

There were smiles all around Aug. 30, as members of the Hormel Foods Bentonville (Ark.) Sales Office helped dedicate a new bike trail, a gift to some of the town’s youngest and most deserving residents.

Cassie Moore, customer business manager for Hormel Foods, was among those in attendance, grinning from ear to ear at what her co-workers and her company have done for children who find refuge at the Northwest Arkansas Children’s Shelter. For a quarter of a century, the organization has served as a 24-hour emergency residential care facility for children who are victims of family violence, abuse and/or neglect. Since it opened its doors in 1993, the residential center has welcomed in excess of 9,000 children, giving them on-site schooling, counseling and other services during their stays.

The LiveTotal Health program, established in 2005, provides a comprehensive wellness approach to help our associates and their families achieve physical, financial and personal health.

In December of last year, Wendy’s launched WeCare: an employee assistance fund designed to provide short-term financial assistance to members of the Wendy’s family experiencing financial need due to federally or state-declared natural disasters. We’re proud to offer this new benefit to our system and hope that WeCare will be a straightforward way for Wendy’s people to help Wendy’s people during difficult times.

Today, for the fifth year in a row, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (NYSE:BMY) is launching Coast 2 Coast 4 Cancer, a nearly month-long cross-country bike ride to raise money for cancer research. From September 5-25, 109 company employees will ride a total of nearly 3,000 miles from Cannon Beach, OR, to Long Branch, NJ with the goal of raising $1 million for the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Funds raised will be matched dollar for dollar by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, up to a $500,000 maximum donation.

From massive natural disasters to complex and escalating conflicts, communities around the world experienced unprecedented incidences of crises requiring emergency response last year. The global cost for natural disasters in 2017 alone totaled $330 billion. In the wake of disasters, many companies mobilize to offer volunteers for on-the-ground rapid response activities and to provide financial assistance, often spending significant portions of their philanthropic budget on disaster relief. But, is there room for more to be done?