Ottawa, Ontario – September 22, 2008 – Senior executives from The Home Depot Canada, UPS, Microsoft Canada, and over a dozen more companies from across the nation will join the Board of Directors of Volunteer Canada today to participate in the first Canadian Corporate Council on Volunteering Leadership Summit in Ottawa.

 

“The summit will give us the opportunity to discuss the value of volunteerism and how it positively impacts organizations,” says Ruth MacKenzie, President of Volunteer Canada. “Companies that support employee volunteerism are realizing that it’s a win-win situation that benefits the company, the employees and the community.”

 

The Canadian Corporate Council on Volunteering was formed by Volunteer Canada in 2005 to promote the benefits of employer-supported volunteerism (ESV). CEOs and senior executives of some of Canada’s largest corporations will meet for the first time today to share best practices as part of the newly formed Centre for Excellence in Employer-supported Volunteerism. According to Volunteer Canada, ESV contributes to an overall business strategy in the following ways:

•    Provides leadership opportunities for employees outside of the workplace;

•    Improves morale of staff, allowing them to contribute to a larger community effort;

•    Creates ambassadors for the company on an international scale;

•    Contributes to a stronger culture within the workplace, and employees who take part in ESV are more likely to stay at the company;

•    Makes the company more attractive for potential employees to begin or continue their careers there.

 

Since the formation of the council, there has been steady growth in the number of paid hours employees are given to dedicate to volunteering in just the council member companies alone. In 2005, 15 companies contributed 150,000 hours. In 2007, over 475,000 volunteer hours were donated by employees of 23 companies. Today, with 24 members, the Council is the largest corporate volunteerism initiative in Canada.

 

“The Home Depot’s involvement with the Corporate Council on Volunteering is an important part of our commitment to giving back, as it is for all the participating companies,” says Annette Verschuren, Co-Chair of the Council and President, The Home Depot Canada and Asia. "We're always looking for new companies and organizations to join the cause of volunteerism across Canada."

 

Centre for Excellence partners like Microsoft Canada have been active in engaging employees to dedicate time to worthy causes. “Our employees are incredibly passionate about giving back to their communities. With programs like I Volunteer, Microsoft Canada has contributed almost 20,000 volunteer hours to help organizations in Canada and abroad,” says Gavin Thompson, Director of Citizenship, Microsoft Canada. “I would strongly encourage Canadian corporations that are considering engaging their employees as volunteers to join us.”

 

Through the Centre of Excellence, Volunteer Canada’s Canadian Corporate Council on Volunteering is currently working with academic institutions and non-profits to research and promote the value of ESV.

 

This morning, summit participants are on site at a children’s garden in Ottawa to assist students from Lady Evelyn Alternative School in building several structures, including a fence and a gathering area.

 

About Volunteer Canada

Volunteer Canada is the national voice for volunteerism in Canada. Since 1977, the organization has been committed to increasing and supporting volunteerism and civic participation through ongoing programs, special projects and national initiatives, by developing resources and by engaging in research and training across the country. Working with volunteer centres, community and national organizations and businesses, Volunteer Canada actively leads national dialogues on how volunteerism relates to citizen engagement and civil society and provides leadership on issues and trends in the Canadian volunteer movement. To learn more about Volunteer Canada, please visit volunteer.ca. 

 

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For more information please contact:

Jung-Suk Ryu, Manager of Communications

Volunteer Canada

613-266-9427