IBM志願服務隊伍人數破10萬大關

IBM’s corporate volunteer program hailed as world's largest with 100,000 participants and 6 million hours of service

Petaling Jaya February 26, 2007. In only four years after the initiation of IBM's On Demand Community, the company's community service program, a global army of IBM volunteers are making a world of difference. From working with the visually impaired and physically handicapped, to the homeless and students in need of mentoring, IBM's corporate volunteer program stretches around the world with IBM volunteers serving in nearly 100 countries. This week the company surpassed its 100,000th employee participant, logging in aggregate more than 6 million hours of service.

“IBM employees, whether in the America, South East Asia countries or in Asia Pacific, are making an enormous difference by sharing the same expertise and world class talent they provide to business clients to their local schools, organizations and non for profits,” said Eric Wong, Marketing Director, IBM Malaysia.

IBM has also expanded the tools available on the site for employees to use, including tools that help initiate technology plans, improve project management skills and improve overall productivity in schools and non profits.

In addition, IBM has added new collaborative tools to enable employees and retirees to connect with each other to solve problems together and share solutions around the world. The company will also enable its employees to apply volunteer-related experiences to their professional development. IBM Malaysia has over 400 employees registered as volunteers out of the approximate 350,000 employees worldwide. While the company has strongly supported employee volunteer efforts beginning with the founder Thomas Watson, under current CEO Sam Palmisano, IBM’s best technology and business tools have been added to increase the support volunteers receive and the impact they can make. The focus of the program is to apply the skills and expertise of IBM employees or its retirees to significant issues in their communities, especially in education and workforce development.

“With more than 100,000 registrants and 5.5 million hours of volunteer time, the On Demand Community is an extraordinary example of corporate philanthropy,” said V. Murugeswaran, President of the Damai Disabled Persons Association of Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan. “Even more than the massive numbers, it is notable for leveraging the core strengths of IBM -- its technology and the vast skills of its employees to make a global difference.” The program uses the web to give employees more tools and resources to make a greater impact and after volunteering for 50 hours or more in any year offers cash and equipment grants that match employee volunteer time.

Recently, IBM has added collaborative tools that enable IBM employees to share their best practices, for example an engaging presentation, materials and demonstrations to interest children in science by showing the magnetic properties of electricity. Recognizing the impact that its volunteers make in their communities, IBM has also recently enabled its employees to apply volunteer activities to their professional development. For example, if an employee is interested in gaining project management skills then they can use the tools and presentations provided, work with a non-profit and report back the accomplishments with their managers for consideration for other client-related projects.

IBMers in Malaysia recently used the resources available to encourage careers in technology related industries with the DAMAI Disabled Persons Association. With the main objective of providing people with disabilities the necessary skills to be independent and to fit in with today’s workforce, the volunteers gave their time on weekends and led a host of activities related to the development of IT skills and knowledge. They conducted computer training classes on word document and presentation applications, education on Internet programs such as search engines and instant messaging, and also reviewed the center’s current infrastructure for facilitating these activities.

With the cash grant from ODC, they were able to acquire the necessary new equipment such as 1 laptop, 6 personal computers, 1 projector, 3 printers and the network setup to improve on the ICT center at DAMAI. “I think the concept of IBM On Demand Community (ODC) promoting wide-spread employee and retiree volunteerism in socially relevant projects throughout the world is great. It enables ordinary citizens like my team and I to invest our own time in charitable causes of our own choice” said Kuu Meei Hui, IBM Malaysia’s Cloning Center Team Lead.