Bang Saen benefits from Global Volunteer Day

Chananyarak Phetcharat, managing director of DHL Express Thailand and Indochina, led a team of volunteers from the Thai unit last month to participate in two environmental and school-playground restoration projects in Bang Saen, Chon Buri. 

“All of us were motivated to participate in the extensive preparation and execution of these and other related projects as we believe in the spirit of volunteerism in our company,” she said. “We are all encouraged and take great pride in devoting time and effort to create a positive impact in their communities. Since it was introduced in 2008, we have seen a continual increase in the number of employees and countries participating in Volunteer Day.” 

She was one of the volunteers of DHL Thailand, part of Deutsche Post DHL – the world’s leading postal and logistics group – which on September 6 launched Global Volunteer Day 2013.

“The tremendous success in 2012 is a clear signal of our employees’ commitment to make a positive contribution to our world. This initiative also has been an effective employee-engagement programme, as our employees now feel even more positive about our strategic goals and direction as a company,” she said.

In last year’s project, more than 62,000 volunteers in about 120 countries participated in more than 1,000 programmes that benefited local communities directly. Nearly 500 volunteers in Thailand were also involved in environmental and playground-restoration projects in Bang Saen, in line with a corporate responsibility strategy that focuses on three programmes – GoGreen (protecting the environment), GoHelp (delivering help) and GoTeach (championing education).

This year, on September 16 nearly 500 volunteers – out of 800 in total – from DHL Express, DHL Supply Chain and DHL Global Forwarding joined in a day-long effort involving activities to clean up the popular Bang Saen beaches. The volunteers later assembled to engage in some fun activities with schoolchildren and provide a donation for the restoration and installation of new facilities at the playground of Laem Tan School in Bang Saen. 

“The spirit of volunteerism has a very long tradition at DHL and is very much entrenched in the passionate spirit and motivation that drives our employees at DHL in Thailand,” Chananyarak said. 

“We think it is important for our employees to select small local projects that can be seen to have a greater and more sustainable impact. What might resonate and really drive important results elsewhere doesn’t always work in Thailand or other countries. So we are very encouraged to have been given the latitude to create Thai solutions for Thai concerns and difficulties. 

“Our employees welcome any opportunity to take ownership or these kinds of projects and become empowered as change agents in their communities and ‘deliver help locally’.” 

Thomas Tieber, South Asia chief executive officer of DHL Global Forwarding, said: “Since 2008, we have increased our community engagements throughout Thailand through a wide range of practical contributions with the aim of making a difference to the society. Global Volunteer Day is very much an integral part of our ‘Living Responsibility’ strategy, and with every year the participation levels and dedication among all of our staff have dramatically increased and become such a source of pride and enthusiasm for all of us. 

“Still, it should come as no surprise, as it does reflect our company’s culture of giving back to and supporting people and communities wherever we work throughout Thailand.” 

They joined forces with employees across Asia, the Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, along with their business partners and customers, who volunteered in various community programmes across these regions. 

DHL also announced that the 10-day volunteer period, traditionally an annual initiative held in September, has now been extended to become a year-long programme in an effort to boost participation in volunteerism within the communities where the company operates. With some 285,000 employees, and operations in more than 220 countries and territories, the company says its active support for employee volunteerism is part of its efforts to make a significant impact across the globe. 

Kevin Burrell, Thailand managing director of DHL Supply Chain, said: “All of our employees are delighted to have now made Global Volunteer Day an annual event among other CSR-focused projects on our calendars. It is very rewarding for all of us to genuinely localise a global initiative with sustainable initiatives and projects that are meaningful and practically supported by our employees and the communities throughout Thailand that we interact with every day. 

“The teamwork and dedication shown by our volunteers, from the planning to the execution on Global Volunteer Day, are truly inspiring. It is also gratifying to see how much our colleagues rise to the challenge of doing better and doing more each year.”

Introduced in the Asia-Pacific region in 2008, Global Volunteer Day has expanded into the Americas, the 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 programme, local country teams organise and participate in recurring activities with beneficiaries and/or partner organisations that deliver significant sustainable impact. 

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. 

Last year, the firm supported 104 projects involving more than 9,000 employees in 48 nation who volunteered 61,000 hours of their time to local projects. Together with the three corporate social responsibility programmes, employee volunteerism has been an integral part of the Corporate Responsibility Strategy under the motto “Living Responsibility”, DHL says.