In Costa Rica, vital services do not always reach children in the most marginalized regions. That's why Costa Rica's business community partnered with United Way in Costa Rica—locally known as Asociacion Empresarial para el Desarrollo (AED)—to bring community projects to all Costa Rican youth. After negotiations with the Ministry of Education, the government agreed to bring three of the group's suggested initiatives to the national level. By next year, teachers throughout the country will have access to more efficient learning tools and technology that will allow them to better support students.
The projects are currently supported by AED's workplace campaign associated with 73 companies in Costa Rica including United Way National Corporate Leaders KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Procter & Gamble. By combining the influence and motivation of local companies, the expertise and experience of United Way, and the power of the government to turn local successes into national policy, progress has been made on a country-wide scale. Read more.
NCL Global Work
Agilent's objective as a global corporate citizen is to be an economic, intellectual and social asset in each nation and community in which it does business. An integral part of this is active community involvement. As part of this commitment, in the midst of difficult economic circumstances, India launched the “Giving Campaign” for the first time. In the first year of its launch, Agilent employees donated more than one million rupees (USD $25,000) for this noble cause. A number of leaders passionately drove the campaign across their teams. Each team worked at a target goal. Close to 40 percent of the entire organization participated, with some teams garnering 100 percent participation.
Venkatesh Valluri, President and Country Manager, Agilent India, personally introduced the United Way concept, its vision and mission to the Agilent India employees in Gurgaon, India—a community with no past United Way presence. Venkatesh and his leadership team member, Swati Bhattacharya reiterated Agilent's global commitment to corporate social responsibility when meeting with the leadership team and associates. As this was a first-time effort, the team organized a series of educational meetings to outline how the United Way in Gurgaon will work in the community. Employee events were held to generate interest and excitement in the program and a payroll giving campaign was launched. The launch was extremely successful and aided by visual reinforcement in the form of balloons, posters and banners in all the seven Agilent offices in India.
An employee summed up the spirit of volunteerism and giving and said, "The organization paved the way for [employees] to start giving back to our communities. Over the years, we were inspired by Agilent's CSR activities, fueled by the personal time and monetary investment by the senior leadership team. We are proud to work for a company that is a good corporate citizen, in addition to being a great employer." Agilent is one of the first multinational to run a United Way Giving Campaign in India. Other multinational corporations plan to replicate the Agilent experience.
KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC and Procter & Gamble support Costa Rica
United Way of Bengaluru, India opens its doors
United Way of Bengaluru opened on July 15, 2008, joining well-established United Ways in Baroda and Mumbai, and marking the first of 11 United Ways to be founded across India under the expansion plan. United Way of Bengaluru Board of Directors are prominent community and business leaders including representatives from NCL companies Agilent Technologies India, GE, HP Global e-Business Operations and Qwest Telecom Software Services. Read more.
The United Way Expansion in India Initiative was launched in 2007 with a $125,000 gift from Barry Griswell, CEO of the Principal Financial Group which was matched dollar-for-dollar by the Principal Financial Group. The United Way Leadership Council for India raised almost $1.2 million in the first year to seed fund new United Ways and to strengthen the United Way system in India. The Friends of India Program was also launched in 2007 to provide a meaningful way for people in North America, including non-resident Indians (NRIs) as well as business and community leaders, to participate in the process of United Way expansion in India by serving as supporters and volunteers in the initiative.
National Corporate Leaders impact Latin America
IBM, Pfizer and PwC save lives in Peru
Working through United Way International, employees at IBM, Pfizer and PricewaterhouseCoopers helped hundreds of families in Peru’s high country survive an unprecedented winter. Thanks to generous donations of clothing from these employees, United Way of Peru distributed winter jackets, pants, socks, blankets and food to more than 800 people living in an isolated, indigenous community in Lillinta, Peru. Read the full story here.
Volunteer day in Brazil
United Way Brazil, locally known as Associação Caminhando Juntos, hosts a community-wide volunteer day. Un Dia Caminhando Juntos brings people together for volunteer activities focused on financial stability, legal assistance, health and nutrition. Volunteer projects are planned and supported by volunteers from companies such as DuPont, Johnson & Johnson, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Procter & Gamble, Rohm and Haas Company, Pinheiro Neto Advogados, Transway and the banks Morgan Stanley and Credit Suisse. In its sixth year, this year’s Un Dia Caminhando Juntos has received the support of more than 300 volunteers benefiting approximately 2,500 young people and families in their communities.
Procter & Gamble leads the way in Latin America
Read an interview with Jorge Uribe, Procter & Gamble President – Latin America and member of the United Way International Board of Trustees, detailing Procter & Gamble’s commitment to United Way and corporate social responsibility both domestically and abroad.