Chevron Spirit at the Heart of Week of Caring

It Takes a Village

September 19, 2011 By Beth Trimarco Leave a Comment

United Way’s Week of Caring is one of the Bay Area’s largest corporate volunteer events, bringing thousands of people together to work throughout our community. Jo Esguerra Sevilla, a long-time volunteer, has racked up 665 volunteer hours over the years. She knows because her employer, Wells Fargo, keeps track as part of its commitment to community service.

Since Jo started at Wells Fargo nineteen years ago, she has participated in Week of Caring activities ranging from packing groceries for seniors to working the food bank to cleaning up Half Moon Bay. However, the majority of her volunteer time has been spent at her children’s school which depends on parent involvement to be successful.

According to Jo, giving time is important, especially in the down economy. “Because of budget cuts, some things just wouldn’t get done without the help of volunteers,” said Jo. “It takes a village, and even though you might feel like individual work might not make a difference, collectively we are having a huge impact.”

Week of Caring certainly feels like a village, attracting 4,000 volunteers this year. Many of those 4,000 work at Wells Fargo, Chevron, Bank of the West, and Enterprise Holdings. Wells Fargo employees get sixteen hours of paid volunteer time annually. The company also has awards, a volunteer tracking system, and donation-matching programs.

“I feel grateful to work at Wells Fargo where I can give back to the community,” said Jo. “I can’t give a lot in monetary donations, so I give in kind. In many ways, it’s better because you see the results of your work, and a smiling ‘thank you’ from the people you have helped.”

United Way has been running Week of Caring for twenty-one years. For more information, go to http://weekofcaring.org/.

Sign Up Today for Week of Caring

July 11, 2011 By Maria Stokes Leave a Comment

United Way’s Week of Caring (September 12-17) is the largest corporate volunteer program in the Bay Area, bringing thousands of local employees to hundreds of projects benefiting our nonprofit community. Last year, more than 8,000 employees volunteered at nonprofits across the region. Many of these nonprofits wouldn’t be able to complete essential projects without volunteer support.

Share your Week of Caring story and win $100! Has volunteering made a difference in your life? Tell us about your favorite Week of Caring volunteer experience from years past. Post it as a comment on United Way’s Facebook NOTES page, then encourage your friends and colleagues to “like” your story. The person whose story gets the most votes by August 15 will win a $100 VISA gift card.

Filed Under: Pathways out of Poverty, Volunteer Tagged With: Volunteer, Week of Caring

Chevron Spirit at the Heart of Week of Caring

September 23, 2010 By Maria Stokes Leave a Comment

Brighter Beginnings, an organization that supports healthy births and children’s successful development, was one of the many nonprofits that received volunteer support through United Way’s Week of Caring last week. Located in Richmond, Antioch, and Oakland, Brighter Beginnings hosted motivated volunteers from Chevron throughout the week. More than 65 Chevron volunteers gave the buildings a facelift by re-painting the interior of the family rooms. Chevron, presenting sponsor of Week of Caring, mobilized more than 2,250 volunteers to help our Bay Area community during the week.

“In a time of limited resources, Chevron volunteers were a huge help to our organization,” said Natalie Berbick, MSW , Program Manager of Brighter Beginnings in Richmond/West Contra Costa. ”Their caring spirit helped transform our family support center into an aesthetically beautiful safe space for our families. This contribution from the Chevron team brightened our work place and learning environment for the children and parents we serve. We really appreciate Chevron’s support and thank all the organizations that partner together to make Week of Caring such a success every year.”

Across the Bay Area, more than 8,000 employees from more than sixty companies helped support local nonprofits at almost 200 volunteer projects. The 20th annual Week of Caring was a tremendous success.