Ramadan sees volunteers for charity initiatives keen on making a difference By a staff reporter August 04, 2013 DUBAI: GE Volunteers, the internal organisation of GE (NYSE:GE) that promotes the spirit of volunteerism worldwide, have signed up for a series of charity initiatives that aim to make a meaningful difference to the community. As part of the charity initiative during the Holy Month of Ramadan, several GE volunteers have signed up to support the ‘Adopt-a-camp’ initiative by Dubai Chamber, whereby they will assist in preparing care packages consisting of at least 40 items such as mattresses, pillows, bed linen, toiletry for three months, and food supplies for one month, among other items for distribution to workers in Dubai. GE’s volunteers have also extended their support to the summer camp outings organised by Engage for Al Noor Training Centre for Children with Special Needs. GE’s employees will arrange day outings for the children with all costs of the trip taken care of by the company. In another key charity initiative, GE Volunteers have joined hands with Gulf for Good, registered with the Dubai International Humanitarian City, which organises exciting and adventurous challenges with the participants while raising funds to support handpicked charities. GE is partnering with Gulf for Good’s newest charity initiative, ‘Cycling the 7 Emirates’ to be held in November/December 2013, with the proceeds to go towards Al Manzil, a professional care-giving and learning environment for individuals with special needs to nurture their potential and develop the requisite self-help, social, educational and vocational skills. As part of the initiative, a group of 10 to 25 people will take part in a 400km mountain biking adventure through the seven emirates over five days to raise Dhs150,000. Each participant is expected to raise Dhs12,200 to take part in the challenge, with GE to match the funds raised up to Dhs7,200 per person, underlining the depth of the company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility. Elliot Lewis of GE Volunteers said: “Volunteering to partner with community oriented initiatives is a central part of our corporate citizenship commitment. We are thankful to the various organisers for their committed efforts to undertake charity activities that make a difference to the people who need our whole-hearted support. The participation of GE Volunteers brings us closer to the communities we serve in, help foster partnerships with local NGOs and encourage us to be active participants in addressing concerns by various cross-sections of the society.” GE Volunteers have been actively engaged in community-oriented activities across the MENA region including their participation in the UAE Book Drive, in partnership with Room to Read, collecting 511 books from offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. They also partnered with the Awqaf and Minors Affairs Foundation (AMAF) to help orphans and underprivileged children through the Build-a-Bear initiative for Underprivileged Children in the UAE. They have created ‘Above and Beyond’ care packages for workers in Sharjah. Employees of GE have held family safety awareness classes at the GE offices for children of employees in Doha, Qatar, and joined GE Power and Water’s Power Generation Services (PGS) in their mission to raise awareness on environment, health and safety in Kuwait with dedicated sessions for school students and teachers. GE Volunteers also teamed up with volunteers from Averda, the largest environmental solutions providers in the Middle East and North Africa region and Abu Dhabi Gas Industries Ltd (GASCO) to clean up a section of desert farmland in the United Arab Emirates, and have taken part in beach cleaning activities in Algeria. GE Volunteers have undertaken a number of projects world-wide, and are actively involved in supporting community activities aimed at strengthening environmental awareness in the Middle East and especially in the UAE. GE coordinates volunteer efforts company-wide by keeping a close eye on societal needs and inviting all employees to build stronger communities where the company serves. GE’s employees volunteer over one million hours of community service every year
Posted on: Sun, 04 Aug 2013 05:36:38 +0000
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