During October, nearly 20,000 UPS (NYSE: UPS) employees on five continents around the world will participate in the company’s 14th annual Global Volunteer Month. Employees are expected to donate 325,000 volunteer hours to more than 300 community service events taking place across North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia Pacific and Indian subcontinent, Middle East and Africa (ISMEA).

“Volunteerism and diversity are at the heart of our culture,” said Eduardo Martinez, president of The UPS Foundation and chief diversity and inclusion officer for UPS. “UPS and The UPS Foundation are committed to community service all year round; by designating a specific month for an increased focus on volunteerism, we can take our commitment to the next level to make a significant difference in our global communities.”

The theme for this year’s efforts is to volunteer and support non-profits and NGOs which focus on the development of women and young girls. This theme acknowledges UPS’s ten year anniversary of its Women’s Leadership Development program which is now a global network of UPS leaders dedicated to working together and across UPS to advance the goals of their community, careers and UPS.

UPS also announced that it is more than halfway to its goal of volunteering 20 million hours toward community service by the end of 2020. In June 2014, UPS Chief Executive Officer David Abney announced the company’s pledge.

Directed by The UPS Foundation, which leads the global citizenship programs for UPS, Global Volunteer Month mobilizes employees from every region to engage in numerous volunteer efforts and activities happening around the world. Through the increased concentration on volunteerism during the month of October, UPS employees can focus on their volunteer efforts and make a sizeable impact.

Each year, UPS concludes Global Volunteer Month by awarding $10,000 grants to 14 non-profit organizations UPS employees volunteer at in each U.S. region, international region and business unit.

Featured 2016 Global Volunteer Month projects include:

• United States

  • Supporting breast cancer awareness and research by participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure charity walk

  • Supporting the Marine Corps Marathon and United Way Halloween Bone Run

• Canada

  • Facilitating tree planting projects in partnership with Credit Valley Conservation (CVC), Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) and Toronto and Region Conservation (TRCA)

• Latin America

  • Coordinating events to empower women to support the work of IFEMSI Foundation in Colombia 

  • Participating in multiple volunteer activities to benefit children and senior citizens with organizations including United Way, Hogar Fe Viva, Comedor Infantil Un Rayito de Luz, A.C.and Hermanitas de los Pobres, among many others

• Europe

  • Bringing together leaders at trailblazer companies for best practice sharing to empower women employees in Turkey with KLP – Women Leadership Platform, Kagider and TurkishWin 

  • Conducting renovations of childrens’ homes, womens’ refuges and kindergartens with organizations including Frauenhaus and  Kinderheim Gera in Germany

  • Fundraising for several organizations supporting individuals with muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome and multiple sclerosis, including AVAPACE in Spain, UILDM in Italy andFundacja Spektrum Liberi in Poland

• Asia-Pacific

  • Baking with proceeds going to charity to empower women at YWCA Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia

  • Counseling patients to help prepare them for their procedures with Operation Smile in the Philippines

  • Participating in environmental sustainability activities in China such as clean ups for the Shenzhen Mangrove Wetlands Conservation Foundation and parks such as Gulanyu Park, Ningbo Zhongshan Park and Songshang Hu Park

• ISMEA

  • Conducting recreational activities and mentoring adolescent girls at SOS Children’s Villages in India  

  • Playing with orphaned children and cleaning orphanages with organizations including Ngwa Road Motherless Babies Home, Hope Orphanage, Irese, Bishop Ganaka School, Green Pasture Orphanage Home and Red Cross Motherless Babies Home, among many others

• UPS Global Headquarters (Atlanta), Chicago Area Consolidation Hub (CACH), Information Services New Jersey (IS NJ)

  • Assembling food packages for children in support of Feed My Starving Children

  • Employees at UPS Global Headquarters will also volunteer at Super STEM Expo put on by theGirl Scouts to help girls learn about science, technology, engineering and math as well as atCARE USA’s “Walk In Her Shoes” – a walk to help raise funds to end poverty and social injustice in 95 countries around the world 

• UPS Freight

  • Preparing homeless shelters and permanent homes for families by painting rooms and shelters, organizing food donations and doing landscaping projects for Housing Families First andHomeAgain

• UPS Airlines

  • Raising funds and taking part in the American Heart Association’s Kentuckiana Heart Walk

For more information about UPS’s philanthropic and volunteerism efforts, please visit www.UPS.com/Foundation.

About The UPS Foundation
UPS (NYSE: UPS) is a global leader in logistics, offering a broad range of solutions including the transportation of packages and freight; the facilitation of international trade, and the deployment of advanced technology to more efficiently manage the world of business. Since its founding in 1907, UPS has built a legacy as a caring and responsible corporate citizen, supporting programs that provide long-term solutions to community needs. Founded in 1951, The UPS Foundation leads its global citizenship programs and is responsible for facilitating community involvement to local, national, and global communities. In 2015, UPS and its employees, active and retired, invested more than $110 million in charitable giving around the world. The UPS Foundation can be found on the web at UPS.com/Foundation. To get UPS news direct, visit pressroom.ups.com or follow @UPS_News.