Employers, Employees Serving as Volunteers in their Communities Across NC
Governor Roy Cooper is encouraging businesses and employees across North Carolina to go All In for NC by joining volunteer efforts during the week of June 14 and beyond. All In NC is a call to action for more North Carolinians to become volunteers, and businesses can help lead the effort.
“We count on our North Carolina volunteers so much to provide help to people who need it,” said Governor Cooper. “It’s our businesses that often lead the way by encouraging their employees to volunteer and we need even more of them to go all in.”
VolunteerNC, an agency within the Office of the Governor that promotes community service across North Carolina, is asking businesses to encourage their employees to serve as volunteers. A number of North Carolina businesses are participating in volunteer efforts across the state this week, including:
- Employees with Blue Cross Blue Shield NC volunteering with the Diaper Bank of NC and the Inter-Faith Food Shuttle
- Employees from eastern North Carolina Starbucks stores volunteered at the Greenville Branch of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina.
- Employees with International Paper’s New Bern Mill volunteered with the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina.
“At International Paper, we believe our company cannot succeed if our communities do not succeed,” said Adam Miklos, mill manager, New Bern Mill. “We are proud to support the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina as they strive to make an impact on hunger in the greater New Bern area and across North Carolina.”
Businesses with volunteer efforts are encouraged to use social media to highlight employees who volunteer and spotlight nonprofits in their communities that need volunteer help.
Nonprofits often rely on corporate partners for consistent volunteers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many of these employer-based volunteer initiatives were suspended. With vaccinations increasing and COVID-19 rates down in North Carolina, people are encouraged to return to volunteering. Volunteers are needed every day, but especially during times of disaster, such as pandemics, floods and hurricanes.
More information is available online at allin.nc.gov. VolunteerNC has drafted an outreach toolkit to assist businesses interested in participating in volunteering. Businesses and individuals can sign up online or email volunteernc@nc.gov to get information about the state’s most critical volunteer needs.
By Ford Porter, NC Governor’s Office