UPS employees will be delivering 275,000 hours of voluntary work to help communities around theworld this month, and the company has also donated $2 million for environmental protection
projects.During the company’s 9th annual Global Volunteer Month, UPS’s 400,000 employees will continuethe company’s legacy of giving and service. UPS employees give an average of 80 hours of volunteertime each year, according to an internal survey, and this year’s goal is to reach 275,000 hours ofservice.
Employees will participate in a variety of service activities ranging from educating children toproviding vital necessities to those in need, UPS said. During volunteer efforts, employees alsowill deepen established relationships with key partners like the Boys and Girls Club of America andUnited Way by supporting service activities of those organizations. In addition, The UPS Foundationwill donate $100,000 through an employee contest, providing 10 employees who participate in GlobalVolunteer Month a $10,000 grant to support the organization with which they volunteered.
Ken Sternad, president of The UPS Foundation, said: “Volunteerism has long been a part of ourculture. We see the value of community service both in enhancing lives of individuals and also indeveloping the leadership talents of our employees. We know the benefits that service provides ourcommunities and workforce and are honored to place an additional emphasis on volunteerism andservice each October.”
Meanwhile, The UPS Foundation has also launched a new environmental initiative with nearly $2million in funding to help plant, protect and preserve trees in urban and rural areas in the UnitedStates and around the world. UPS is collaborating with some of the world’s leading environmentalorganizations to manage and preserve forests in the USA, Belgium, Canada, Brazil and China.“Preserving the world’s forests is critical to reducing carbon, combating climate change andprotecting the planet’s atmosphere,” Sternad said.
Recipients of new forestry-focused grants include the Earth Day Network ($235,000), the NatureConservancy ($500,000), the National Arbor Day Foundation ($150,000) and The National ParkFoundation ($200,000).
Again this year, the World Resources Institute was awarded $300,000 to support its “Green HouseGas Protocol” initiative, a program to establish credible and effective emissions accounting andreduction programs. Funds also will support the New Ventures program, designed to spurenvironmentally-sustainable small and medium enterprise growth in key emerging markets. AndKeep America Beautiful will receive $225,000 to be used for its continued support of the CommunityImprovement Grant program for local affiliates.
Additional environmentally focused grants were made to the World Business Council forSustainable Development, World Wildlife Fund, DonorChoose.org, Student Conservation Association andNational Council for Science and the Environment.
