Volunteering

Earlier in May, Keep America Beautiful Reno, Nevada-based affiiliate Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful (KTMB) hosted its 11th annual Great Community Cleanup -- a local initiative of the Great American Cleanup, the nation's largest community improvement program.

Our employees, their friends and families rolled up their sleeves and joined with our community partners to give back at more than 1,000 local projects across the U.S. and in 22 other countries. We also hit a milestone with more than 5 million total service hours donated since Comcast Cares Day began in 2001.

In its previous life, the Peck Road Water Conservation Park in Arcadia was a pebble quarry. It wasn’t pretty or inviting, but it served its industrial purpose. Today, the landscape is much different — it’s a beautiful, thriving green space in an area that is seriously lacking.

Team-building is a great reason to volunteer. But that’s only part of the equation. Not everyone enjoys volunteering in the same way. By restricting your company’s volunteer initiatives to a few large events per year, you’re also restricting employees’ individual passions and skills.

Only 33 percent of US workers report being engaged in their jobs according to a report issued earlier this year by Gallup. A whopping 51 percent of U.S. employees say they are actively looking for a new job or watching for openings. So, what drives engagement and what can organizations do to attract and retain the best talent?

Every day, around the world, our employees choose to spend some of their time volunteering for organizations and projects they are proud to support.

Of those volunteer opportunities that primarily deal with food, our sweet spot, Second Harvest Heartland, keeps us coming back again and again. The organization has been a General Mills partner for more than three decades.

When Kylee McGrane sat down with her family to watch Frozen, it gave her a great idea – and she just couldn’t let it go. Realizing that she looked like Elsa and that her best friend, Maggie McAndrew, looked like Anna, she had an “a-ha moment” that would become her next service project: she wanted to start visiting hospitals as the princesses from Frozen.

In celebration of World Water Day on March 22, Xylem launched a month-long volunteer challenge that extended through Earth Day on April 22 for Xylem colleagues across the globe to highlight the importance of water and environmental issues.

Cox Communications and The Trust for Public Land are recognizing volunteers who are creating, preserving or enhancing shared outdoor spaces. Finalists for Virginia’s Cox Conserves Heroes program were announced today, and the public is being asked to vote now through Tuesday, June 6.

Employee volunteers at De Beers’ Venetia mine in South Africa have raised cash for the fight against cancer by having their hair sprayed or shaved.