DHL, part of Deutsche Post DHL, the world’s leading postal and logistics group, recently kicked off its annual Global Volunteer Day (GVD) 2013 celebrations. Over the next 10 days, DHL employees across Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, along with their business partners and customers, will volunteer in various community programs across these regions. In 2012, DHL’s global employee volunteer program 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, traditionally 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 the communities the company operates in. With some 285,000 employees, and operations in over 220 countries and territories, the company’s active support for employee volunteerism is part of its efforts to make a significant impact across the globe.
In the Philippines, activities lined up during the day-long event include a blood donation activity, packing of relief bags for distribution to communities affected by the recent floods, clean up and preparation of classrooms for the new school year in support of the Department of Education’s “Brigada Eskwela”, and the donation of vegetable seedlings and seed packets for the benefit of the Philippine National Red Cross and the West Rembo Elementary School, respectively.
“We are committed to giving back to the communities that have helped us grow for more than 40 years. Our business is integrated into the local community – our customers, employees and partners are often residents of the areas in which we operate,” said Jerry Hsu, Chief Executive Officer, DHL Express Asia Pacific. “By transitioning to a year-long program, the DHL Global Volunteer initiative will have a very real impact on the local communities that we operate in.”
“What began as a modest initiative over five years ago will now expand to become an on-going effort. This reflects the company’s culture that stems directly from our mission as a company; to help people realize their full potential, in everything they do,” said Yasmin Aladad Khan, Senior Vice President, DHL Express Southeast Asia.
Nurhayati Abdullah, Country Manager, DHL Express Philippines, said, “Over the years, we’ve seen growing enthusiasm from our employees around Global Volunteer Day. Our employees believe strongly that we must continue to focus on both the sustainability of our business and the world we live in. It just gives us all a great feeling to give back to the communities that have supported our growth. Frankly, that is what the DHL spirit is all about.”
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 beneficiaries and/or partner organizations that deliver significant sustainable impact. These programs deliver to the company’s three Corporate Responsibility programs – GoGreen (protecting the environment), GoHelp (delivering help) and GoTeach (championing education).
In addition, Deutsche Post DHL supports the voluntary engagement of its employees via the “Living Responsibility Fund”. Twice a year, employees can apply for financial support for their projects in the following year. The amount of support granted depends on the time the employee devotes to the project. In 2012, the company supported 104 projects involving more than 9,000 employees in 48 countries who volunteered 61,000 hours of their time to local projects. Together with the three Corporate Responsibility programs, employee volunteerism has been an integral part of the Corporate Responsibility Strategy under the motto “Living Responsibility”.