Business
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DHL extends its week-long Volunteer Day celebration to a year-round programme whereby its employees and business partners volunteer their services and finances to communities in need of support
| By Vincent Nzemeke | Sep. 16, 2013 @ 01:00 GMT
ALL is now set for the 2013 edition of the DHL Global Volunteer Day, GVD, celebrations. The weeklong event is aimed at bringing DHL employees and the business partners from Asia, Middle East and Africa together to volunteer in various community projects across various regions where the organisation operates. The 2012 edition of GVD saw over 62,000 volunteers in about 120 countries participate in more than 1,000 programs which benefitted local communities directly.
DHL also announced that GVD, which used to be an annual week-long initiative, held in September, has now been extended to become a year-long program in an effort to further boost participation in volunteerism within communities where the company operates. With some 285,000 employees, and operations in over 220 countries and territories, the company’s active support for employee volunteerism is an effort to make a significant impact across the globe.
Charles Brewer, managing director, DHL express Sub-Saharan Africa, said the organisation desires to reach more communities through volunteerism. “DHL has always been an active supporter of the communities in which we live and work. Just last year, our employees participated in more than 40 programs, helping over 28,000 beneficiaries. Now, through the extension of our global volunteer program, we aim to commit more volunteers, and reach out to the many other communities which require support across the region,”
Roger Olsson, chief executive officer, DHL global forwarding Sub-Saharan Africa, said the company was proud of the 2012 GVD which achieved tremendous results in some African countries. He added that the 2013 edition is poised to make a real difference in the lives of the people in the community that will be visited. “As part of global volunteer day last year, we leveraged our global partnership with SOS Children’s Villages in Nairobi and Mombasa to engage in community activities. The projects which focused on cleaning up the community as well as educational initiatives, were met with great success and we are so proud of our volunteers’ passion for community service.”
On his part, Paul Graham, chief executive officer, DHL supply chain Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, said the GVD was introduced in line with the organisation’s belief that a healthy community is one of the requirements for business growth. “DHL’s business philosophy is based on the premise that healthy communities are good for business and prosperity. The extension of our volunteer program represents our commitment to giving back to the African communities where we have been in operation since 1978. When our team members volunteer their time, talents and financial resources to support charitable causes on a consistent basis, we can make a significant contribution towards powering new possibilities in our communities.”
Introduced in Asia Pacific in 2008, Global Volunteer Day has expanded into the Americas, Middle East, Africa and Europe over the years, and continues to build on its success by involving more employees and community projects. As a sustained program, local country teams organize and participate in recurring activities with partner organizations that deliver significant sustainable impact.
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