IMPACT DayCelebration of Deloitte’s global commitment to volunteering |
IMPACT Day is a year-round celebration of Deloitte’s commitment to community investment. Many Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL) member firms around the world participate. Contrary to what the name may suggest, IMPACT Day is not just one day. IMPACT Day activities take different forms and occur at different times of year around the world. In 2009, nearly 50,000 Deloitte people across more than 60 countries participated in IMPACT Day activities.
IMPACT Day is an opportunity for Deloitte people to put their passion, determination, and skills to use for the benefit of their communities—leaving behind their laptops, conferences calls, and emails to make a difference in the communities they serve. They provide skills-based volunteering and a helping hand to hundreds of not-for-profit organizations where they share their knowledge and expertise, such as strategic business planning and helping teachers in schools, as well as painting buildings and beautifying parks and gardens.
Throughout 2010 Deloitte member firms hosted local IMPACT Day activities. Highlights of activities and events held include:
- In the United States, more than 33,000 volunteers participated in IMPACT Day activities. Many supported the U.S. firm’s education objectives. For example, in one city the practice hosted a session for thought leaders from the public schools, nonprofits and corporations to discuss how volunteerism can make a positive impact on the public schools and students.
- 850 people from Deloitte Israel participated in IMPACT Day 2010 activities. Working with A Different Lesson, a nonprofit that connects businesses to schools, Deloitte volunteers delivered a 3 hour lesson on ethics and values in 27 elementary schools across Israel, reaching over 2,700 children. The students engaged in activities to understand values and ethical dilemmas, and situations in their day-to-day routines where these skills are used. In 10 of the schools, Deloitte volunteers also helped with facilities improvement projects, such as painting and setting up libraries.
- In Korea, Deloitte professionals contributed time and skills in a variety of ways. Volunteers provided consulting services on business strategy, operations management, and other services to social enterprise non-governmental organizations. Additionally, Deloitte volunteers and leaders, school teachers, and a famous veteran alpinist, participated in mountain climbing with disabled teenagers. Volunteers were matched with the teens, and provided climbing guidance and encouragement, and participants got to know one another.
- Deloitte Spain’s IMPACT Day activities focused on supporting education initiatives and strengthening their relationships with the non-governmental organizations and associations the firm supports year-round. Volunteers accompanied children, who otherwise would not have the opportunity, to spend the day at the theatre learning about theatre and watching a performance, and then they prepared a show themselves. Deloitte volunteers also spent a day at a school for handicapped students, hosting special activities, such as obstacle races, to help develop the student’s physical skills and confidence.
- In South Africa, 1,421 Deloitte volunteers participated in IMPACT Day activities in 6 cities. 350 volunteers in Pretoria worked with the People Upliftment Programme (POPUP), which provides skills development, training and job supports. Ongoing, Deloitte volunteers provide tutoring, career guidance and mentoring. On IMPACT Day students demonstrated their skills, from budgeting to cooking, with prizes for the best presentations and teamwork. In Johannesburg, volunteers visited the Lesedi Community, where they launched a farming income generation program last year. This project has helped community members develop a self-sustaining venture that provides income and business skills. Volunteers helped repair and expand the farm, enabling the venture to further expand, and also helped set-up a library for adult education.
