Our Global Week of Employee Volunteering Touches Hearts and Lives

In Italy, more than 200 employees spent time helping several organizations.  They worked with Opera San Francesco per i Poveri in Milan, distributing meals and drinks to underprivileged individuals and families. Others volunteered to support the annual fundraising event for the Italian Association for Multiple Sclerosis.

Our offices in Athens, Greece, were buzzing with activity for three days as more than 100 employees filled 1,200 bags with our products to donate to those who need it most across the country .  Volunteers also visited a homeless shelter to hand out the bags and cook up meals. Another team supported families in need in the city, giving out food and clothes to help make their lives a little easier.

Armed with paint brushes, tools and lots of enthusiasm, more than 100 employees from our facilities in Switzerland sprung into action in many communities. In Zurich, some packed over 400 bags of food for the country’s main food bank while others painted a colorful mural on the walls of a children’s shelter and prepared the garden for winter. Another team cleaned up a local forest, built a wooden bridge and created a hideout for animals and bees.

In Spain, hundreds of our passionate employees went to work, distributing hot meals to the homeless and organizing collections for local food banks.  In Madrid, employees kept a group of teenagers active with a lively game of basketball and provided a nourishing dinner.  And in Barcelona, another team repaired a day center for disabled children and helped kids with crafts projects. Many other employees dedicated their time to helping the elderly, supporting the unemployed by helping with job searches, and replanting trees in a wooded area in Barcelona.

Throughout France, our employees helped by preparing and distributing meals to the hungry on the streets of Paris and volunteered at local food banks. In addition, employees set up sporting challenges to collect donations for hospitalized children, while others devoted a day to working in the vineyards of Arbois in Jura to help sick kids.  

In Austria, more than 40 employees helped out in a variety of ways, like tiling a colorful mural in the community room of a shelter for homeless seniors.  Some spruced up the walls with a new coat of paint in various buildings of the SOS Children’s Village in Vienna. And another team helped collect and distribute food to the hungry every day for a week.

From Zumba dance, to aerobics, to hiking, cycling and walking, almost 350 of our employees burned calories for good causes across the Nordic countries. In Denmark, close to 50 employees took part in three walking fundraisers, while 51 Norwegian sales representatives fitted with pedometers walked a total of 1.5 million steps for charity during the week. Their vigorous activities raised funds to help complete construction of a community center and school in West Africa’s Ivory Coast. Finnish employees are giving their donations to support a local children’s home. And the exercise theme continued as many employees donated children’s sports gear and clothes to several local charities.