Mazda's Drive for Good Event

This winter, Mazda introduced a Drive4Good campaign. Like Subaru's "Share the Love" event, Mazda is allowing buyers of new Mazdas to select a charity from a list of four national organizations (Saint Jude Children's Hospital, The American Red Cross, the American Heart Association, the Mazda Foundation, and selected local organizations. 

(Aside: Mazda is missing the animal lover target market with their nationwide list since they haven't selected an animal-related organization, and three of the four organizations are not on the PCRM Humane Seal list of charities that refrain from engaging in or funding animal testing. In fact, this list makes me personally less likely to be interested in Mazda cars.) 

A unique aspect of the Drive4Good campaign is that for each test drive taken during November 25, 2013 through January 2, 2014, Mazda pledges an hour of volunteer time by dealers or employees.

To engage consumers, Mazda is promoting the #MazdaDrive4Good hashtag for social media sites. So far, almost $60,000 has been donated and almost 40,000 volunteer hours pledged for 2014. It will be interesting to how having a quota of volunteer hours determined by consumer test drives will change the implications of volunteering. If employees feel pressured to volunteer because of a sales promotion, it will likely create negative feelings and reduced meaningfulness. However, if the volunteer hours were going to be completed anyway, the employees would not feel any additional pressure, though the pledge itself might be hollow. So far, I can't find information on the administration of the program, but I will keep my eye out in 2014 for news.

Partnering with WWF-Pakistan

photo credit: NotMicroButSoft (Bedori Top Expedition in Jan 2014 via photopin cc

The Nation, an English-language paper in Pakistan, reported that employee volunteers of Lucky Cement Limited planted mangroves saplings at the WWF Wetland Center, Sandspit.

Anwar Naseem, Senior Director Operations, WWF Pakistan praised the efforts of Lucky Cement, observing, “Climate change is not only a slogan anymore; it has become a sad reality and a potential threat to our future. It is very important for the corporates to come forward and play their role in environmental conservation."

Until writing this post, I didn't realize that wetlands conservation was a priority for Pakistan, but there is a comprehensive Pakistan Wetlands Program supported by the government and many NGOs. The Salahif Organization reports:

Despite the generally arid nature of Pakistan's climate, the region supports an estimated 780,000 ha of wetlands that cover 9.7% of the total surface area of the country. In excess of 225 significant wetlands sites are on record in the prototype Pakistan Wetlands GIS Database developed during the PDF (B) Phase of the Pakistan Wetlands Program. Nineteen of these have been internationally recognized by the Ramsar Convention Bureau as being of global importance.

As evidenced by the photograph above, Pakistan's coast is home to several nesting sites for marine turtles. Overharvesting and pollution have negatively impacted the turtle population. The wetlands program helps not just turtles, but the entire ecosystem. Employee volunteer activities like that of Lucky Cement can play a role in creating awareness, fostering education, and reversing ecological damage.

CareCredit's Caring Community Program

CareCredit, a division of General Electric and one of the nation's leading health care credit cards, sponsors a number of CSR initiatives, including Give Kids a Smile, InfantSEE, Miracle Ear, FACE TO FACE: The National Domestic Violence Project, Canine Companions for Independence, and the Breast Reconstruction Awareness Fund. Although most of the initiatives take the form of grants to partner organizations, the company also promotes employee volunteerism.

Recently, employees in Southern California participated in the Orange County AIDS Walk held at Disneyland (Anaheim, California). Together, thirty-two employees and family members raised over $7,000 for the AIDS Services Foundation Orange County.

Cindy Hearn, senior vice president branding and communications, reflected, “It feels good to do good. We have a giving team who work at CareCredit — people who believe it is important to help others. As a company, we want to support our employee efforts and make it easy for them to reach out into the community and volunteer.”

In addition to promoting positive affect by helping others and by engaging in physical activity, charity walks can promote team cohesion, assist in networking, and give employees a sense of meaning. I've written more about employee-driven charity walks here.

CareCredit Press Release

Voluntarily Volunteering

A recent article on knonxvillebiz.com, "Ensure that Volunteering is Voluntary" by Rachel Park Hurt and Paul Wehmeier outlined some of the benefits of employee volunteer program, but noted that employers need to make sure that employees truly feel their volunteering is done freely and optionally. If not, employers could be liable for wages, including overtime.

Legal concerns are not the only reason to make sure employee volunteer program (EVP) activities are voluntary. If employees feel they are forced to participate or experience significant peer or supervisor pressure to engage in the program, they will likely engage in subtle resistance, and they and their teammates will not gain any of the teambuilding benefits of the EVP. Nor will the pressured employee feel the sense of meaning and well-being that comes from freely volunteering.

When I was involved in recruiting at the Oklahoma Blood Insitute, I saw how peer pressure from the work group could transform a lifegiving, selfless act into a source of stress and resentment. Additionally, I knew people who were gay, but not out at work. They felt they had to go through the blood donation process anyway, though it ultimately wasted the time, effort, and equipment of all involved since at the time (and currently) gay men are not allowed to donate blood.

Rodney Davis, Alameda County Community Food Bank (Creative Commons License)