UPS announced that the company will deploy nearly 40 percent more employees on five continents to contribute to 450 community service projects, in the company’s 16th annual Global Volunteer Month. In 2014, CEO David Abney pledged UPS’s employees would contribute 20 million volunteer hours by the end of 2020, and the company is on pace to reach this goal.

UPS estimates employees will devote 375,000 volunteer hours in October to projects in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific and Indian subcontinent, Middle East and Africa (ISMEA). In 2017, UPS employees completed a record 2.9 million hours of volunteer service, providing more than $80 million in economic impact.

“Our employees are witnessing first-hand the positive effects of humanitarian aid and making communities around the world more resilient through dedicated volunteer hours. Volunteerism is an instrumental part of employee development in providing relief efforts in the wake of extraordinary events like the recent destruction from Hurricane Florence and Typhoon Manghut,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation and chief diversity and inclusion officer for UPS. “We see UPS employees as true global citizens working on community projects and initiatives that are important to them with the backing of The UPS Foundation’s tools and resources for lasting impact. There’s a role for UPS in all 17 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and we aim to highlight the essential work our employees do every day in support of those goals.”

Through UPS’s membership with IMPACT 2030, UPS encourages employees around the world to get involved in projects that help advance the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

The UPS Foundation leads UPS’s global citizenship programs, including Global Volunteer Month. The UPS Foundation encourages employees from every region to volunteer their time to programs around the world. Global Volunteer Month helps increase the focus on volunteerism and community service in October so UPS employees can make a big impact. At the end of Global Volunteer Month each year, UPS awards $10,000 grants to 14 non-profit organizations UPS employees volunteer at in each U.S. region, international region and business unit.

Featured Global Volunteer Month projects include:

• United States: To fight heart disease, UPS workers are supporting The Heart Association at a walking event and teaching teenagers about road safety through the UPS Road Code program with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Also, UPS employees continue to help with Hurricane Florence recovery efforts.

• Canada: Planting trees with the Credit Valley Conservation, hosting a charity book sale with Laubach Literacy-New Brunswick and feeding the homeless at the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors Foundation.

• Latin America: Cleaning and revitalization of endangered bird nurseries with SOS Fauna of Brazil and working at the 3rd Beneficent Futeball Cup UPS Brazil to benefit two shelters Solid Rock and Sitio Agar.

• Europe: Painting classrooms for the indoor training center with The Salvation Army in the UK and renovating railway wagons with the Foundation of Narrow-Gauge Railways.

• Asia-Pacific: Providing care and education for disadvantaged children with Big Sister/Big Brother brain booster activities to supplement their tutorials with Project Pearls Inc. in the Philippines and improving the living condition with education by cleaning the library and surrounding area for Indonesia’s Bulir Padi Foundation. Additionally, UPS volunteers continue to assist with Typhoon Mangkhut (otherwise known as Super Typhoon Ompong in the Philippines) recovery efforts.  

• ISMEA: Promoting efforts for enriching rural communities through organized philanthropy with Rural Education and Development Trust in Mumbai and creating a free and safe place for children to play, providing mentorship programs of social education and recreational and cultural activities at the St. Thomas Home for Children in Dubai.

• UPS Global Headquarters (Atlanta), Chicago Area Consolidation Hub (CACH), Information Services New Jersey (IS NJ): Packing meals for children around the world with Feed My Starving Children and supporting efforts with the American Cancer Society at the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk.

• UPS® Freight: Cleaning up summer camp area will help to ensure the camp is ready for winter and then the following camp year for the YMCA and supporting HomeAgain by creating a homey atmosphere by renewing and beautifying the interior and exterior.

• UPS Airlines: Working at Halloween events at the Louisville Zoo and supporting the Special Olympics through the UPS Plane Pull to help raise funds for athletes to participate. Teams will compete to see who can pull a 160,000 pound UPS cargo plane 12 feet in the shortest time.