General Mills Employees “Think Global, Volunteer Local” in Conjunction with National Volunteer Week

“Think Global, Volunteer Local celebrates how working together allows us to enrich the lives of children and families around the world in locations where we have employees and operations.”

4/12/2011 --- General Mills kicks off its annual “Think Global, Volunteer Local” campaign,  a series of global volunteer projects that celebrates two of the company’s core values –  volunteerism and sustainability.

From April 11 through April 22, more than 3,000 General Mills employees and retirees from the United States, Latin America, South Africa, Europe, India, China, Asia and Australia are participating in hunger relief and environmentally-focused volunteer projects in 65 locations where the company has business operations.

Thousands of employees will work on projects including packing food for the hungry, cleaning local beaches and city streets, planting trees in parks, preparing community gardens for spring planting and assembling food packs for children in need. 

“We’re proud of the incredible work our employees across the globe are doing every day in their communities,” said Ellen Luger, executive director of the General Mills Foundation and a General Mills vice president.  “Think Global, Volunteer Local celebrates how working together allows us to enrich the lives of children and families around the world in locations where we have employees and operations.”

According to a General Mills survey, 82 percent of the company’s U.S. employees volunteer either through company programs or independently. Nearly 60 percent of employees spend up to five hours a month serving in their communities. 

General Mills employees participate in skilled volunteerism in the areas of marketing, finance, human resources, logistics and strategic planning to help state government agencies and nonprofit organizations more effectively carry out their missions to serve others. Employees also volunteer their time in traditional ways. This includes mentoring and tutoring students, helping to feed the hungry, volunteering to help kids eat healthy and stay fit, planting and managing an on-site garden at General Mills where the vegetables raised are donated to area food shelves, and helping build or rehab homes for families in need through Habitat for Humanity.

Employees engage in the community by personally contributing to causes and issues that are important to them, motivated by the fact that General Mills matches their contributions through the annual United Way Campaign, the annual food drive and other gift matching programs. General Mills also has a robust retiree volunteer program with retirees volunteering 10,000 hours over the last year.

In fiscal 2010, General Mills awarded more than $100 million to communities worldwide.  Of the total, the General Mills Foundation contributed $22 million in grants in the targeted areas of hunger and nutrition wellness, education, social services, and arts and culture.