Grassroots Gold: Lenovo Volunteers Grow Month of Service for 7 Straight Years
For the seventh year in a row, Lenovo employees have grown their annual volunteer-led month of service. The Love on Month of Service is a dedicated time of year in which employees are encouraged to volunteer in their communities. Projects are planned and executed by a team of more than 100 employee project leaders who have identified nonprofits that are aligned with the Lenovo Foundation’s mission of empowering underrepresented populations through access to education and technology. Since the program’s beginning, Lenovo’s philanthropic team has aimed to grow the annual volunteer project by at least one metric each year, whether it be number of beneficiaries, volunteer instances, hours logged, or participating offices. The 2023 global event stretched for 4 weeks during September and Lenovo’s dedicated employees once again delivered annual growth in number of volunteer instances (+32%) and hours volunteered (+56%).
“No one is being “volun-told” to participate in Love on Month of Service,” commented Sydni Behm, Global Program Manager for Lenovo philanthropy whose leadership has overseen much of the program’s growth. “Each year we start out wondering if this will be the year when impact or participation plateaus, but employees around the world continue to show up, give back to their communities, and grow this program as a grassroots initiative.”
Employees at Lenovo are encouraged to volunteer 8 hours per quarter through the company’s global volunteer benefit and can log their volunteer hours on the Love on platform. When they track their time, they receive volunteer rewards that can be donated to their favorite cause and during Love on Month of Service, employees’ Love on Platform rewards were doubled.
Love on Month of Service not only galvanizes Lenovo’s global workforce in corporate citizenship, but it also aligns with recent research about the benefits of volunteerism in the workplace. Volunteerism of any type has been shown to reduce stress and improve wellbeing, while volunteerism in the workplace can be an effective team and morale builder. These insights were reinforced through Love on Month of Service’s survey data: 72% of the project leaders responding to the survey felt more engaged as a Lenovo employee after the program, and in the volunteer survey, 87% of all volunteers felt a sense of pride for to be part of a company that supports volunteerism and 70% of volunteers felt that Love on Month of Service benefitted the perception of Lenovo as a corporate citizen in their local community.
While the global growth and metrics of the program are something the entire workforce can be proud of, the stories of unique projects can be the most inspiring takeaway from the annual event. Explore the month in photos and videos shared on We Are Lenovo Instagram Stories and read about Lenovo’s social impact champions on StoryHub. You can read more about Lenovo’s social impact goals in the most recent Environmental, Social and Governance Report.
