Remembering the Value of Volunteerism
By Peter Dudley
Way back in 2003, when I was new to CSR and had just joined Wells Fargo, one of our team members was granted a six month paid leave to work with a nonprofit to create an entrepreneurship program for women in Armenia. The effort was so successful that she was asked to speak at the United Nations; not long after, she left the company to pursue that work.
At the time, I found this remarkable. Not only that this big bank would pay her to go volunteer for half a year, but that everyone thought it was fantastic when she left. We lost a top performer. What’s to celebrate?
Since you’re reading this, you’re probably in CSR and therefore already understand. While every action, no matter how small, can make a huge difference, the most important benefits of a strong employee volunteer program exist on a much deeper level than the bottom line. They’re under the surface.
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Peter joined Wells Fargo in 2001 after 10 years in software startups. As manager of Team Member Philanthropy, he runs the nation’s largest workplace giving campaign (ranked #1 five years in a row by United Way Worldwide), multiple volunteer programs under the Wells Fargo Volunteers brand, and employee hardship and scholarship funds. He is a member of United Way Worldwide’s Global Corporate Leadership Council. A native of Connecticut, he has a degree in Electrical Engineering from UC Berkeley. In his career, he’s worked on the B-2 stealth bomber, the first-ever smart phones, and the first PDAs.
