 Volunteering
is Good Business
Volunteer
organization helps businesses connect with volunteer opportunities
(ARA) -
Corporate community involvement is on the rise as more companies
recognize the many benefits of being socially responsible. When
employees volunteer for a good cause, the community, the employee,
and the company benefit.
Most corporations
recognize that volunteer work can strengthen team building,
increase team morale, improve recruitment and retention of employees,
and enhance the company image. Employees can also benefit from
developing skills that may translate to the workplace, not to
mention the satisfaction of making their community a better
place.
As a result,
a number of businesses employ an administrator to coordinate
a company's community involvement efforts. At Washington Mutual,
the seventh largest bank in the United States, Assistant Vice
President Marcia Long is responsible for coordinating these
service activities. She heads a team of five regional managers
who oversee volunteer efforts in their regions.
"Community
involvement is very important to us here at Washington Mutual,"
says Long. "We have 61,000 employees in nearly 40 states, and
I'm happy to say a good majority of them take the time to volunteer
in their communities. We participated in close to 2,000 projects
nationwide last year."
VolunteerMatch's
corporate service is specifically designed to meet the unique
needs of leading corporations who recognize the economic and
social value of corporate volunteerism. The service provides
an innovative, effective and easy way for employees to find
places to volunteer, while giving corporations a streamlined
method for maintaining and promoting their commitment to community
involvement.
Long credits
the success of Washington Mutual's volunteer efforts with the
fact that the company makes it easy for employees to participate.
"We provide all our employees with information about volunteer
opportunities in their various communities with the help of
VolunteerMatch," says Long.
VolunteerMatch
has worked well for Microsoft too. "It helps us enhance how
we support organizations we want to help," says Rodney Hines,
program manager for Microsoft. The company leverages VolunteerMatch
to highlight community service organizations and volunteer opportunities
that align with their mission and philanthropic objectives.
In addition, Microsoft can post events open only to their corporate
employees, like projects for their Day of Caring. "I like the
fact that we can feature our own events, in addition to general
volunteer opportunities," says Hines.
Employees
interested in volunteering simply enter their ZIP code on their
company's version of VolunteerMatch to find places to volunteer.
Signing up is as easy as "point and click," as indicated by
the fact that since launch of VolunteerMatch in 1998, the service
has generated more than 1,200,000 volunteer referrals. And,
since any nonprofit or tax-exempt organization can list volunteer
opportunities within the VolunteerMatch network, employees are
ensured access to the latest, most up-to-date volunteer opportunities
in their community.
"With VolunteerMatch's
corporate service, we'll be able to reach more employees, including
those in rural areas, and manage nationwide volunteer projects,"
said Washington Mutual's Long. "It's much easier than any paper-based
system you could dream up."
For more
information on VolunteerMatch Corporate, call (415) 241-6883,
or e-mail vmcinfo@volunteermatch.org. You can also visit the
Web site at volunteermatch.org.
Courtesy
of ARA Content |
