Volunteer efforts have become important way for companies to involve workers in the community - Business First of Louisville:

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But for some local companies, it has becomse a business priority. Employees’ efforts give firms positive exposure in the community while offering intangible benefitsto co-workerd who team up for community Louisville-based insurance company encourages volunteerism as part of its according to Virginia K. Judd, executive director of The Humansa Foundation. “At the we have a moral responsibility togive back, and it goes back to the conceptionn of Humana,” Judd “Our leaders and co-founders have always valued giving back to the and this is one way to express that.” Alongg with $5.
6 million in grants given to charitieds in 2008, The Humana Foundation manages the company’s volunteer endeavorsd and tracks volunteer hours. Judd added that “volunteerin g is more importantthan ever” in the current “Financial resources are important, but right now with the economic I think volunteerism takes more of a significan t role.” Humana’s 29,000 associates companywide have logged more than 13,00o volunteer hours since fall 2007, Judd said. She suspectse that volunteerism is underreported because many do not consistentlyh tracktheir hours.
“It’s your own she said, noting that the company does not compensatwe employees for their involvement inthe community. “The opportunitie for associates to give back are basedd on their desire and commitment tothe Often, employees volunteer after work or on but if an event does occur durinhg the workday, Humana asks only that associatess work with managers to plan theitr absences. Humana provides incentives such as the Spirity ofPhilanthropy Award, which recognize volunteers who go abovr and beyond normal activities.
Last year, Human a CEO and Humana Foundation chairman Mike McCallistet presented the first Spirit of Philanthropy Awardd to a HumanaCares Volunteer Council inGreen Bay, Wis., for developing a mini-volunteed network for the company. The Human Foundation also donated $25,000 to a nonprofif group chosenby HumanaCares. Co., which has more than 4,000p workers at its Louisville-based division, support employee efforts by organizinb volunteer projects and giving workers the optio to volunteer oncompany time.
“Most volunteer efforts are during the week to get themaximujm participation,” said Patrick Dunn, the company’s Oceann Freight Transportation manager who also serves as co-chairmanh of the community service team, GE Volunteers. To promotd volunteerism, both Humana and GE have establisher formal processes to find opportunitiesw fortheir workers. Humana associates can learm about opportunities through a company which includes a nonprofi database organizedby VolunteerMatch, a nonprofit organization that connecta volunteers with organizations that need help.
Groupx interested in VolunteerMatch apply through itsWeb site, and the nonprofirt is featured on The Humana Volunteer Networo and at www.volunteermatch.org. All organizationw that fit VolunteerMatch’s criteri are welcome on Humana’s internal but there is a priority for those that benefitg childrenand health. “We encourage peoplee to volunteer for organizations in linewith Humana’ss mission, but we don’t excludew nonprofits that do not,” said Jeannetted Bahouth, project manager at The Humana Foundation. Volunteer opportunities are made availablew to GE associates also through an online portal that listas organizations and events in needof volunteers.
The portaol also tracks volunteer hours. Througbh its education and community-service teams, GE Volunteerw organizes about 20 projects per with a monthly averageof 1,100 In 2008, 808 volunteers signedr up for a single event through the database, Dunn said. Nonprofit organizations become part of the onlinw databasethrough referrals, and employees are encouragede to develop programs.