More than 49,000 hours of time donated to Canadian charities
MISSISSAUGA, ON, Feb. 25, 2014 /CNW/ - In keeping with its ongoing commitment to supporting the communities where it operates, UPS once again went beyond solely offering financial support in 2013. Encouraging staff to donate their time and skills to give back to their communities is at the foundation of UPS's corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy and an area it continues to go above and beyond. UPS employees dedicated 49,465 hours to more than 500 charitable organizations across Canada in 2013. This was in addition to $470,000 given through The UPS Foundation's Community Grant Program.
Organizations are nominated for grants by UPS employees and must have benefited from 50 hours of hands-on volunteering from those employees to qualify.
Within its four key CSR pillars; Diversity, Community Safety, Environmental Sustainability and Volunteerism, UPS Canada proudly supported the following organizations through community grants last year:
| Boys and Girls Club of Canada | $106,000 | |
| Carmelina's Home | $79,850 | |
| Darling Home for Kids | $55,550 | |
| Fredericton Community Services, Inc | $23,050 | |
| Canuck Place Children's Hospice | $19,000 | |
| Volunteer Canada | $30,000 | |
| The BC Lions Society for Children with Disabilities | $10,000 | |
| Portage Foundation | $11,000 | |
| Credit Valley Conservation | $36,000 | |
| Starlight Foundation | $50,000 | |
| Ecosource Mississauga | $50,000 |
One of the major initiatives UPS strengthened this year is with Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada (BGCC). In addition to an initial grant in 2011 to bring the UPS Road Code program to Canada, UPS provided further grants to BGCC in 2012 and again in 2013 - totalling more than $400,000 in the past three years. Road Code is a global UPS initiative that teaches safe driving techniques to help prepare youth before they get their license. The program - currently operating in the United States, the UK and Germany, in addition to Canada - provides participants with state-of-the-art interactive sessions that allow UPS to share its 100-plus years of safety expertise with those that are learning to drive.
"Boys and Girls Clubs of Canada is delighted to offer Road Code to our teen members through this partnership with UPS," said Pam Jolliffe, President and CEO of BGCC. "We are honoured by the commitment of the UPS employees who so generously share their time and expertise to teach Road Code at local Boys and Girls Clubs. With the support of The UPS Foundation, we are working together to empower youth with knowledge about safe driving techniques and the skills to help keep them safe behind the wheel."
The Road Code initiative is based on the idea of 'skilled volunteerism' - a concept grounded in the power of transferring knowledge and skills along with providing financial support - and its success is largely dependent on the UPS drivers, or as UPS refers to them, Service Providers, that oversee the program and facilitate the hands-on training.
"UPS Road Code allows me to couple my passion for helping kids and my dedication to safe driving. As a professional driver, I can share my knowledge and skill set with the next generation," said Rohan Stevens, UPS Service Provider and Road Code trainer. "It is extremely rewarding and inspiring to be able to make a difference in my community alongside other employees. The value UPS places on hands-on volunteerism is a great example of how a company can give back in more ways than one."
While UPS-led volunteer initiatives span the course of the year, UPS celebrates Global Volunteer Month around the world annually every October. Thousands of UPSers in more than 50 countries have helped build schools, assist food banks, renovate shelters and complete many other tasks in their communities.
"Our people are truly the backbone of the company and they play an integral role in bringing our CSR commitments to life," said Dan Shea, vice-president human resources, UPS Canada. "Through the relationships our employees have built we have been able to make a real difference in 2013 - above and beyond our financial contributions. I look forward to leading the company in building on those successes in 2014, and I encourage Canadians across the country to seek out opportunities to make a difference in their own communities."
More than a decade ago, UPS took another step forward in its volunteering efforts by beginning its relationship with Volunteer Canada. In 2006 UPS was one of the first members of the Corporate Council on Volunteering which now has 25 members. Volunteer Canada collaborates closely with volunteer centres, local organizations and national corporations to promote and broaden volunteering. Their programs, research, training, tools, resources and national initiatives provide leadership on issues and trends in Canada's volunteer landscape.
"UPS has demonstrated its commitment to local communities across Canada for many years now. Through its efforts and encouragement around skills-based volunteering within its employee base and financial support towards Volunteer Canada, important work has been done that has positively impacted populations in the country," says Steve Tipman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Volunteer Canada. "In addition to all of this, UPS has played a leadership role in volunteerism through its membership of the Corporate Council for Volunteering as well as having held Board positions at Volunteer Canada."
To learn more about the impact UPS is having in communities across Canada, follow the company on Twitter through @UPS_Canada. To view UPS's global CSR report, including global performance metrics and goals, please visit the website here.
The UPS Foundation
Since its founding in 1907, UPS® (NYSE:UPS) has built a legacy as a caring and responsible corporate citizen, supporting programs that provide long-term solutions to community needs. The UPS Foundation, founded in 1951, is responsible for facilitating community involvement in local, national and global communities. In 2013 UPS and its employees, active and retired, invested more than $102 million and contributed 1.8 million hours of volunteer time globally. The UPS Foundation can be found on the web at UPS.com/foundation.
SOURCE: UPS Canada Ltd.
Alex Thomas, APEX Public Relations
416-934-2101
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