Volunteering

While the name Serv-a-Palooza may conjure thoughts of the mid-to-late 1990s, global outdoor lifestyle brand Timberland’s enthusiasm for its annual day of service is as current as ever. Over 350 employees of Timberland’s Stratham, New Hampshire headquarters and guests pulled on their boots on September 14 to serve at seven community projects aimed to make nearby communities a little brighter.

More than 80 Aramark team members volunteered to support Pomonok Community Center in Queens, NY, on Aramark Building Community Day (ABC Day), the company’s global day of service, bringing health and wellness education and workforce readiness programs to families in Queens. In partnership with Pomonok, volunteers hosted a food discovery experience, led by Executive Chef Patrick Schaeffer, from Citi Field. Volunteers also renoved the center's food pantry, and revitalized both indoor and outdoor spaces.

In memory of Yeardley Love, a victim of domestic abuse, Sharon and Lexie Love founded the One Love Foundation to help make sure that this avoidable tragedy never happens to anybody else. The Loves hope to educate people, especially young adults, on the signs of unhealthy relationships so that they or their loved ones can get out of an abusive relationship before it’s too late.

Last Thursday, more than 500 Astellas employees on two continents left their offices, rolled up their sleeves and helped their communities. They were supporting Changing Tomorrow Day— a global effort to contribute time and resources to building stronger communities. Across the United States, employees carried their passion for helping others by volunteering at service projects to improve wellness facilities for patients and their families, bring books to children of all ages and beautify cultural institutions.

Habitat for Humanity and Bank of America are partnering for the fourth consecutive year on a Global Build that will engage bank employees and local Habitat organizations around the world.

Between Sept. 30 – Oct. 7, approximately 2,500 employee volunteers (#BofAVolunteers) will join their local Habitat organizations to help build, rehab or repair homes and revitalize neighborhoods in more than 90 communities in six countries, including the United States, Canada, Ireland, Australia, Hong Kong and Indonesia.

For the 15th straight year, UPS employees are participating in Global Volunteer Month across five continents. UPS estimates employees will donate 335,000 volunteer hours in October to 240 community service events taking place across North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific and Indian subcontinent, Middle East and Africa (ISMEA). The Global Volunteer Month volunteer hours will help UPS reach 2.15 million volunteer hours in 2017. At the end of Global Volunteer Month each year, UPS awards $10,000 grants to 14 non-profit organizations UPS employees volunteer at in each U.S. region, international region and business unit.

Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s iconic community improvement nonprofit organization, has two fall school-based educational initiatives with deadlines fast approaching. The 7th annual Recycle-Bowl, Keep America Beautiful’s national K-12 school-based recycling competition, begins on Oct. 16 and culminates on America Recycles Day, Nov. 15. The deadline for schools to register is Tuesday, Oct. 10.

Picture a student in science class, seated at a desk, her computer on. The student isn’t writing a paper about her studies or reading class materials, according to Akash Patel. She is interacting with students halfway around the world in Australia, touring their classroom, hearing about what their science quiz will cover that week. The child, from her desk in America’s heartland, is experiencing a world she may never get to travel to – but because of the World Experiences Foundation, she’s learning from it.

Whirlpool Corporation EMEA employees(Europe, Middle East and Africa) volunteered for non-profit organizations in their local communities as part of the company’s first-ever Community Day.

Common Impact, a nonprofit that pioneered corporate skills-based volunteering, teamed up with longtime partner John Hancock to design its inaugural skills-based flash consulting event in Boston. Structured as a team-based, flash consulting event, John Hancock matched teams of volunteers with five local nonprofit organizations dedicated to developing youth in low-income communities to support projects focused on technology and data, two critical areas of need for nonprofits.