HPE and HP Inc. Honored by Civic 50 for Community Service Leadership

by Rebecca Wang, Senior Manager, Community Engagement at Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
Sep 9, 2016 5:10 PM ET
Rebecca Wang celebrates receiving the Civic 50 Award with Francisco Aragon of HPI (left) and Points of Light Chairman Neil Bush (right).

Inspiring Progress

It’s always gratifying to be recognized for good work, whether it’s for a personal accomplishment or meeting a professional goal. Our team was thrilled to hear that Hewlett-Packard Company was named one of the Civic 50’s top 50 most community-minded companies in 2016, and the Technology Sector Leader for the third consecutive year.

It’s a real privilege to stand among such companies as Hasbro, Inc., KMPG LLP, Toyota Financial Services, UnitedHealth Group, and Valero Energy Corporation.

Among other criteria, Hewlett-Packard Company was recognized for the deep integration of community engagement throughout the breadth of the organization. For example, US employees contributed more than 700,000 hours of volunteering in 2015—a full 36% of those were high value pro-bono activities.

The award also recognized the ultimate impact of our efforts. On the global front, our partnership with Stop Hunger Now, an NGO with a mission to stop hunger in our lifetime, represented the largest corporate meal packaging partnership in their history. More than 1.5 million nutritious, dehydrated meals were packaged by 4,700 employees worldwide. The meals went to schools, orphanages, nurseries, and medical clinics in vulnerable communities in 19 different countries.

The benefits of supporting volunteerism extend far beyond those to the community. Data from our annual global volunteer survey shows that employees who participate in company-sponsored volunteering activities experience greater increases in morale than those who don’t volunteer.

We’re still enjoying the glow of being a Civic 50 winner but we’re by no means resting on our laurels. HPE community engagement programs are an integral part of the company’s culture and how employees live our values.

Our global volunteer policy allows every employee to use 60 hours of paid time during the year to volunteer. The HPE Foundation also offers a matching gift program that matches cash donations and provides volunteer rewards.

Our worldwide network of community engagement champions schedule regular volunteer activities for their sites; volunteers donate their business experience and skills through HPE Advising, our virtual business mentoring program; and employees are changing lives through Matter to a Million, which provides every HPE employee with several $25 credits each year to lend to Kivaborrowers. 

Through these programs, in partnership with amazing non-profit organizations, HPE strives to make meaningful and sustainable impact in our communities.

Rebecca Wang is the senior director of community engagement for Hewlett Packard Enterprise. She oversees the company’s award-winning worldwide employee engagement strategy – which includes everything from hands-on/team-building activities to skills-based and pro bono volunteering. Follow Rebecca at www.twitter.com/RebsWang