Awards for Outstanding GE Volunteers

Volunteerism is deeply rooted in GE’s culture and is a pillar of our corporate citizenship. With roughly 300,000 employees worldwide, GE has tremendous capacity to contribute to the communities where we work and live. Last year, GE Volunteers in 55 countries gave 1.3 million hours of service to their local communities. Almost every day, GE employees demonstrate good citizenship through meaningful volunteer projects across the globe.

Once a year, GE Volunteers are recognized for their outstanding community service with the Phillippe and Impact Awards for individual and team efforts. One GE Leader is honored for championing volunteer engagement with the Corinne Johnson Volunteer Leadership Award.

“Our employees give countless hours of time and expertise, and build personal relationships with organizations that help communities grow and thrive,” said Bob Corcoran, Vice President, GE Corporate Citizenship. “Hearing about the many ways GE volunteers are making an impact in their neighborhoods always makes me proud to lead our citizenship efforts and proud to work for GE.”

This year’s awards were presented by Jeff Immelt and Bob Corcoran at the annual GE Volunteers Global Leadership conference. Close to 90 participants from more than 20 countries gathered for the conference, with 55% of the attendees coming from outside the U.S. The emphasis of the meeting was on skills development for GE Volunteers Council Leaders. This included strategic tools to enhance employee engagement and best-practice sharing.

The Gerald L. Phillippe awards are GE’s most prestigious recognition of individual volunteerism and personal civic involvement. Since 1970, GE has presented the Phillippe Awards in memory of the former GE Board Chairman who was widely known for his efforts to help the underprivileged and to advance higher education for minority students. Phillippe Award winners are able to designate a grant to a nonprofit organization of their choice.

This year, four employees were chosen from 42 nominees worldwide as Phillippe Award winners:

André Elmer, GE Aviation, Brazil

With a strong commitment to children, Andre has been a dedicated volunteer for many years, participating in every project undertaken by the local council.

Daniel Feldmann, GE Aviation, Ohio, USA

For years, Dan has been providing hands-on help and leadership to a nonprofit group that offers therapeutic horseback riding for individuals with disabilities.

Corinne Schuft, GE Power & Water, France

Corinne combines a love of baking with her compassion for the elderly by involving them in pie baking activities at a long-term care facility.

Junita Siregar, GGO, Indonesia

Since the inception of GE Volunteers in Indonesia, Junita has invested more than 10,000 volunteer hours and enlisted many others for a wide variety of activities.

To read more about the Phillippe Award winners click here.

The GE Corinne Johnson Volunteer Leadership Award was created in 2008, in memory of Corinne Johnson, a GE Aviation business leader and avid supporter of local community engagement. This award is given to a GE leader who champions the cause of employee engagement in their communities through their own involvement and support of employee volunteering. 

This year’s Corinne Johnson award goes to David L. Joyce, President and CEO of GE Aviation, for his demonstrated commitment and engagement in community activities, and for his encouragement of employee volunteerism. In 2012, David created GE Aviation’s Purpose Awards, recognizing outstanding employee teams worldwide, including GE Volunteers, domestically and globally.

To read more about the Corinne Johnson award winner click here.

The Impact Awards recognize exemplary employee volunteer projects managed by a GE Volunteers Council in the areas of Education, Environment, Health and Community Building. Winners are determined based on the uniqueness of their projects, the scope of their employee engagement, and on their measurable and sustainable impact.

A team award is presented to the winning GE Volunteers Councils and cash grants are provided to nonprofit organizations selected by the award winners.

This year’s Impact Award winners are:

School Facility Improvement — Indonesia Council

GE Volunteers teamed up with a major GE Aviation customer and local villagers to improve an early-childhood care facility in Gunung Sari Village.

KnowAtom – USA, Lynn, Massachusetts Council

A GE Volunteers project that introduced an innovative STEM curriculum to grades 3–5 is now the core science curriculum in all Lynn elementary schools.

GirlsGetSet – United Kingdom Council

GE Volunteers are encouraging girls to pursue science, engineering and technology careers through a series of workshops, projects and mentoring.

To read more about the Education Impact Award winners click here.

Mayor’s Challenge – Global Community Day – USA, Cincinnati, OH Council

GE Volunteers were instrumental in creating and growing this corporate service day into an annual large-scale community event to beautify the city.

To read more about the Environment Impact Award winner click here.

Mid-Day Meal – Food for Thought – India, Bangalore Council

GE Volunteers worked with a nonprofit partner to provide healthy meals to economically challenged children, which helped them to stay in school.

Fun Run – United Arab Emirates, Dubai Council

GE Volunteers worked with local agencies and with HealthAhead to plan and organize a fundraising and awareness event for children with special needs.

Developing Health – New Horizons – USA, Greenville, SC Council

GE Volunteers partnered with the local GE affinity networks to execute many effective skills-based projects in leadership development, IT, Finance and HR.

Child Cancer Care – Switzerland Council

For 10 years, GE Volunteers have organized special fun outings for children with cancer, while giving their parents a much needed break and a chance to unwind.

To read more about the Health Impact Award winners click here.

GEV Community Day – Australia/New Zealand Councils

More than 800 GE Volunteers participated in 94 projects in one day: from painting and planting, to serving meals and sorting clothes for the needy.

Celebrating 115 Years of Good Actions – Mexico Councils

Marking 115 years of GE in Mexico, GE Volunteers built 115 houses for poor families, installed lighting in 115 schools and read more than 115,000 hours with their families.

Greenhouse Project – Kenya, Nairobi Council

GE Volunteers helped install greenhouses in schools in several communities to introduce sustainable farming practices in the context of climate change.

Milwaukee Annual Community Service Day – Milwaukee, WI Council

More than 2,800 employees dedicated over 22,000 hours to help prepare 20 schools for the new school season, the largest single-day volunteer event at GE.

Teestube Schwaz – Austria Council

GE Volunteers provided a traditional holiday party to families at a homeless shelter, where they have been coordinating and serving hundreds of meals a year.

To read more about the Community Building Impact Award winners click here.

To read more about all the GE Volunteers award winners and to share their stories click here.