September 2021 marks Lenovo’s fifth annual Love on Global Month of Service, inviting employees in 66 countries around the world to make a positive impact in their communities, in alignment with Lenovo Foundation’s mission to empower underrepresented populations with access to technology and STEM education. After transitioning the event to a virtual context in 2020 due to Covid-19, employees found new ways to connect and volunteer with their colleagues and communities near and far. In 2021, employees have planned a hybrid event to ensure they are able to make a safe impact and help community members in the most meaningful way possible.
Lenovo’s month of service is directed by the Lenovo global philanthropy team, led by philanthropy experts in each of Lenovo’s geographies. Each unique project is led by a Lenovo employee volunteer, and requires months of planning and coordination. Many projects engage with NGOs and community causes that are local to Lenovo office locations. Other virtual events have taken on a global scale with international charities like the Red Cross and Junior Achievement. Offices that have engaged in the global service event are finding the reward of building relationships with their local community. They are able to build a deep sense of meaning and commitment as they see their community members through the challenges of the pandemic, natural disasters, and other social challenges.
Last year, the global month of service directly impacted 40,000 community members around the world, through 3,000 employee volunteers. This year, Lenovo is organizing their efforts with the help of Benevity, a global software tool that will better enable volunteer coordination and employee engagement. The philanthropy team is looking forward to having more insights and measurements by using Benevity, especially as companies face challenges to keep employees engaged during Covid-19. Before Covid-19, employee volunteerism delivered clear improvements for employee motivation and retention. Today, giving teams need to be strategic and nimble to listen to adapt and provide meaningful opportunities to give back.
“Keeping employees motivated to spend more time at their computer through virtual volunteerism has been challenging,” commented Sydni Collins, Lenovo Foundation Global Program Manager. “However, we know after last year that even in the virtual setting, employees come away from time volunteered online with the feeling that their time was meaningful and that they truly made a difference. There’s so much we can do for our community through the power of our PCs.”
Watch Lenovo StoryHub for features on global projects and findings as Lenovo employees innovate and adapt to meet the changing needs of their communities. You can also follow employees’ progress on @WeAreLenovo Instagram stories before a final impact readout in October.
