HavServe Joins A Billion + Change at the White House to Envision the Future of Corporate Service
200 companies pledge nearly $1.8 billion in pro bono services to nonprofits.
Washington, D.C. (June 27, 2012) — HavServe, a volunteer-driven not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization, joined A Billion + Change at the White House today for a forum on “A Billion + Change in Action: Connecting to the Future of Corporate Service.” Leaders in industry, civic engagement and policy will convene at this forum to discuss opportunities for businesses to scale efforts and partnerships to meet the social, economic and environmental challenges of the 21st century through skills-based service. They will also explore ways to align corporate skills-based service programs with national initiatives to boost innovation, competitiveness and models of effective collaboration.
In less than a year, 200 companies have pledged an estimated $1.8 billion worth of skills-based services to nonprofits, keeping the Billion + campaign on track to inspire 500 companies to create or expand a skills-based volunteer program in their workplace by 2013.
“As a non-profit organization working in Haiti, HavServe’s goal is to alleviate poverty, hunger and illiteracy through education, training and health services, to encourage people within the villages to work together to solve problems within the community and the country,” said Joyce Hunter, CEO of HavServe, adding “Through our partnership with Points of Light and A Billion+Change initiative, HavServe will be able to provide additional resources for the villages to be motivated to accomplish these goals.”
Hunter and fellow HavServe volunteers are attending today’s forum, which will challenge each pledge (mostly private sector companies) to look ahead at what they are poised to do. “Our challenge now is to expand A Billion + Change while partnering effectively with nonprofit professionals so we can change communities for the better,” said Senator Mark Warner, Honorary Chairman of A Billion + Change. “It’s through collaboration and collective impact that A Billion Plus really does add up to meaningful change.”
Every day, A Billion + Change pledge companies harness the skills and talents of their best and brightest to build nonprofit capacity, create empowering opportunities for veterans, strengthen our workforce, improve STEM education and to promote global development.
Corporate skills-based volunteer programs have also proven to be effective talent management tools, and can help businesses boost their own competitiveness while giving back to their communities. According to True Impact, skills-based volunteers are 142 percent more likely to report job-related skills-gains than traditional volunteers, and 82 percent more likely to report that volunteerism generated new recruits for their company versus traditional volunteers. For nonprofits, the value of skilled support in areas such as general operations, technology and professional services can be 500 percent greater than the value of traditional volunteering.
In this spirit, HavServe organizes both individuals and private sector volunteers to assist with a variety of programs to support the positive development of Haitian youths. Their efforts and successes in LeBrun provide a model for effective community-based change throughout rural Haiti. For more information, visit: https://www.havserve.org
A list of pledge companies, and information about how to take the pledge, is available at: www.abillionpluschange.org.
About HavServe:
HavServe Volunteer Service Network (HavServe) is a volunteer-driven not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization that supports community-led development through volunteerism in least developed countries. HavServe believes that volunteerism benefits both society and the individual volunteer by strengthening trust, solidarity, cooperation, and reciprocity among citizens, and by creating opportunities to empower citizens to realize their potentials and shape the direction of their communities, their country, and the world. The name, HavServe, comes from the understanding that if you have, you serve.
About A Billion + Change:
A Billion + Change is a national campaign to mobilize billions of dollars of pro bono and skills-based volunteer services by 2013. It was launched by the Corporation for National and Community Service in 2008 and continues as an initiative of the federal agency. Reinvigorated in 2011 with expanded leadership under the honorary chairmanship of Senator Mark Warner, it is now housed and managed by Points of Light. The initiative is powered by the support of Deloitte, HP, the Case Foundation and IBM with additional founding support from State Farm, McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP and Morgan Stanley.
Media Contact:
Beth Hilton
The B Company
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