Volkswagen Group of America Employees Give Back to Their Communities

HERNDON, Va., August 26, 2016 /3BL Media/ – Volkswagen Group of America (VWGoA) recently concluded its Get Involved Month in which more than 300 employees volunteered approximately 900 hours with charitable organizations in the communities where they live and work. Get Involved Month featured more than 20 different employee volunteer projects around seven sites across the United States.

Get Involved Month is VWGoA’s collective, concerted volunteer month, empowering employees across the country to support and give back to their communities. As part of this community service driven month, the company also awarded employees who showed an outstanding level of commitment and dedication to their volunteer projects. The award winners received a plaque and a $2,500 donation made to a 501(c)(3) charity organization of their choice. This year’s winners include: John Ellefson, General Manager Customs Operations in Herndon, Va. and David Newell, Master Technician, Electronics Research Laboratory in Belmont, Calif.

“We are inspired by seeing our employees caring so deeply about the communities where they live and work,” said Hinrich J. Woebcken, President and CEO of VWGoA. “To support our employees like John and David in their self-chosen volunteer projects, we have created the VWGoA Get Involved Community Leadership Award.”

After a successful inaugural year in 2015, VWGoA expanded Get Involved Week to Get Involved Month for 2016, after a large number of employees expressed even more interest in volunteering. While July was designated “Get Involved Month” the company encourages employees to “Get Involved” year-round and supports this through initiatives like matching employee donations and providing employees with a volunteer day, in which the employee is provided a paid day off to serve in their community.

“We are grateful that so many of our colleagues want to give back to their communities,” said Machelle Williams, General Manager Diversity and CSR, VWGoA. “Not only are their achievements important in helping to build and sustain great neighborhoods but they are also truly valued by everybody here at Volkswagen.”

As mentioned above, this year’s Get Involved Month supported a variety of projects in communities across the U.S. For example, one group of employees packed and donated 100 backpacks for clients of Northern Virginia Family Service. Another group volunteered with the USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore with putting together more than 2,300 care packages for active military members and their families.

"It is thanks to incredible supporters like Volkswagen Group of America that for 75 years the USO has been showing the support of local communities for members of our Armed Forces," stated Elaine Rogers, President and CEO of the USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore. "USO-Metro care packages serve as an expression of appreciation for the service and sacrifice of our military members and their families, and we're extremely thankful to Volkswagen employees for the thought and care they put into assembling them."

A sample of the projects supported by Get Involved Month can be found below: