Volunteering

Four organizations will serve as keystone partners of Habitat for Humanity’s response to Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, each making contributions of $1 million or more to support the Habitat Hammers Back initiative. The gifts from the Dow Chemical Company, General Motors, Thrivent Financial and a group of American wind energy companies will support on-the-ground responses to the hurricanes in Texas, Florida and other affected areas.

More than 200 Consumers Energy employees and contract personnel are headed from Michigan to Florida to assist local electric companies preparing for Hurricane Irma’s landfall by late this weekend.

When Southern California Edison engineer Martin Barriga heard the company was seeking volunteers to design and build an entry for this year’s Canstruction charity event in Orange County, he was one of the first with his hand up.

When Kaitlyn Martinez heard that one of her friends failed a homework assignment because she didn’t have the simple school supplies of a pencil and paper at home, she wanted to do something to help. Two years later, 14-year-old Kaitlyn is CEO of nonprofit Backpacks 4 Kids AZ, providing students across Arizona with backpacks full of the school supplies they need to succeed.

New research from Common Impact, a nonprofit that pioneered corporate skills-based volunteering (SBV), demonstrates the sustained impact that SBV has on the social sector by creating transformational partnerships between nonprofits and companies.

Habitat for Humanity has begun the post-flooding clean-up as part of its “Habitat Hammers Back” response to Hurricane Harvey.

For perhaps as long as the game has been played, Major League baseball players have cared deeply about the places where they play and live, and that passion and compassion came to the forefront this week when baseball took a backseat to many players’ concerns for the people in communities devastated by Tropical Storm Harvey.

The Great Bud Light River Run came to the Seattle and Portland areas in late August with local volunteers removing litter and, after their respective cleanup events, enjoying the outdoors of the Great Northwest.

Hurricane Harvey made landfall a week ago but the damage it leaves behind will not dissipate so quickly. The storm is a one-in-1,000 year rain event, dumping 24.5 trillion gallons of rain and displacing countless individuals in its wake. As relief workers begin to grapple with the scale of the disaster, the cry for help is urgent and widespread. This call extends to companies who are stepping up by providing money, in-kind donations and solutions. Although the list of companies providing support is extensive, with major companies like Walmart, Verizon and Amazon pledging large cash donations, here, we have highlighted a few unique activations.