HP’s First Global Day of Service

by Rebecca Wang
May 21, 2014 12:00 PM ET

HP Next

A culture of giving
At HP, we have a long history of giving back to the communities where we live and work. Our founders, Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard, set the stage 75 years ago with their belief in corporate citizenship—HP made its first corporate donation in 1940, just one year after it formalized its partnership. Bill’s birthday is May 20, and this year, we’re celebrating that date and the legacy of giving back with HP’s first global Day of Service.

The Day of Service is part of HP Living Progress, the company’s vision for creating a better future for everyone through our actions and innovations.

Volunteering around the world
HP provides every employee with the opportunity to use four hours of paid time each month to volunteer. On May 20, from Shanghai to São Paolo, Barcelona to Bangalore, thousands of HP employees will use that time to volunteer in hundreds of events around the world—taking their skills, passions, creativity and sense of fun into the community.

More than 4,400 employees will work with Stop Hunger Now to package almost 700,000 nutritious meals for vulnerable children and families. Our global community of project managers will lend their expertise to help nonprofit leaders and entrepreneurs solve their most critical business issues. Career workshops for students will be held in several countries.

Employees will also support the Social Innovation Relay (SIR). Created by HP in partnership with Junior Achievement Young Enterprise Europe (JA-YE), this worldwide competition challenges students 15 through 18 to create innovative business concepts to help solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges. With national finals taking place on May 20, employees will log volunteer hours by voting for their favorite team to win the SIR Service and Innovation Award. 

In recognition of this special day, every HP employee is also being given another free $25 credit to loan to an entrepreneur through Matter to a Million—the HP Company Foundation’s partnership with Kiva. More than 100,000 HP employees have already shared nearly $3 million in loans to help farmers, shopkeepers, and other small business owners succeed, and the numbers grow every day. Imagine the ripple effect as their success impacts their families and communities!

While together as One HP we proudly celebrate the Day of Service, our support of community engagement and our commitment to driving human, economic and environmental progress is a year-round priority. It’s how we create a vibrant, sustainable business by solving some of the world’s biggest challenges.