DHL kicks off Global Volunteer Day 2013 in Africa
SINGAPORE, Singapore, September 4, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- DHL (http://www.dhl.com), part of Deutsche Post DHL, the world's leading postal and logistics group, today 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 employee volunteer program globally saw over 62,000 volunteers in about 120 countries participate in more than 1,000 programs which benefitted local communities directly.
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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 an effort to make a significant impact across the globe.
“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,” said Charles Brewer, Managing Director, DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa.
“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,” said Roger Olsson, Chief Executive Officer, DHL Global Forwarding Sub-Saharan Africa. “This year, with a year-long initiative in place, we will be able to make a real difference in the lives of the people within our community. This is essentially the spirit of DHL.”
“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”, said Paul Graham, Chief Executive Officer, DHL Supply Chain Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa. “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 beneficiaries and/or partner organizations that deliver significant sustainable impact. These programs deliver to the company's core programs – GoGreen, GoHelp, and GoTeach.
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”.
Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of Deutsche Post DHL.
Contact:
DHL Asia Pacific & EEMEA
Corporate Communications and Responsibility
Anita Gupta
Tel: +65 6771 3333
Fax: +65 6771 3322
Email: [email protected]
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DHL is the global market leader in the logistics industry and “The Logistics Company for the world”. DHL commits its expertise in international express, air and ocean freight, road and rail transportation, contract logistics and international mail services to its customers. A global network composed of more than 220 countries and territories and about 285,000 employees worldwide offers customers superior service quality and local knowledge to satisfy their supply chain requirements. DHL accepts its social responsibility by supporting environmental protection, disaster management and education.
DHL is part of Deutsche Post DHL. The Group generated revenue of more than 55 billion Euros in 2012.