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GE Celebrates Reaching 1 Million Volunteer Hours Per Year Goal
Area GE Business Exceeds One Year Goal by 16%
PRINCETON, NJ, April 30, 1999
PRINCETON, NJ, April 30, 1999 - One million volunteer hours in one year -- GE pledged to attain that level of volunteer contribution by 2000. Not only did it reach its goal, but surpassed it, with 1.3 million hours logged a year ahead of its commitment. At GE American Communications, Inc. (GE Americom), based in Princeton, associates have contributed in excess of 3,500 volunteer hours in the past twelve months.
Americom Team Volunteers Image
Americom team volunteers at the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen
What is one million hours of volunteerism in real terms?
- If one person were to volunteer full time (40 hours per week), it would take him/her 480 years to reach one million hours.
- According to a 1997 Independent Sector report, one hour of volunteer time is worth $13.74; so a million hours is the equivalent of a $13,740,000 contribution.
- In one million hours, GE has:
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- Completed over 800 community service projects around the world;
- Built or renovated 100 playgrounds, parks or camps;
- Provided mentors to 150 schools or after-school sites;
- Led 25 food programs; and
- Taught skills in a program to double college-bound rates at 17 high schools in disadvantaged communities.
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Over the past year in the Princeton area, GE Americom has participated in a wide range of efforts and events including:
- Homefront's annual Back to School Back Pack and School Supply Drive;
- delivering almost 100 holidays gifts to residents of Womanspace, Rainbow House, and Triad House;
- collecting 30 coats, and boxes of clothing and personal care products for the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen;
- and bowling for youngsters in the NJ Junior Achievement Bowl-a-thon.
"We are proud of the dedication GE people have shown in the Princeton area," says Dennis Helper, Senior Vice President of Human Resources. "Not only do they work hard on corporate volunteer commitments, they involve their friends and family members, further engendering the spirit of community and a common goal." Many Americom associates are fulfilling volunteer hours in their own residential communities as emergency medical technicians, supporting local schools, coaching sports teams, leading scouts and working with church groups. Helper continued, "Americom associates are truly embracing the words of General Colin Powell 'When we help others, we get far more than we contribute."
At the Presidents' Summit on Volunteerism in April 1997, GE committed that by 2000, its employees, retirees and family members would volunteer one million hours in community service per year. The Presidents' Summit drew thousands to Philadelphia and sparked the formation of America's Promise, under the leadership of General Colin Powell. At that time, GE people had volunteered 700,000 hours in 1996.
National Volunteer Week will celebrate its 26th anniversary April 18 - 24. Throughout the entire month, Americom employees will contribute hundreds of additional hours of volunteer time to various causes and organizations; these include:
- Take Our Daughters to Work Program on April 22;
- Philadelphia Fun Fest on April 24;
- March of Dimes WalkAmerica on April 25;
- School and Art Supply Drive;
- Make and serve food for customers of the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen on April 29; and
- a Golf Tournament on May 4 to raise funds for the Princeton Breast Cancer Resource Center YWCA Race for the Cure.
With over twenty years of experience, GE Americom is recognized as a pioneer and a leading provider of global satellite communications solutions. These solutions primarily provide the distribution of broadcast and cable television programming and digital/Broadband Data Services over satellite. GE Americom currently operates twelve satellites providing satellite-based solutions to Middle Eastern television markets. With the launch of GE-4 and as an owner of Argentine satellite operator, NahuelSAt, GE Americom is committed to the delivery of satellite-based communications services throughout South and Latin America. And with the launch of its first Asian satellite, GE-1A, GE Americom's satellite interests will reach more than 90% of the world's population. Some of GE Americom's key international customers include Viacom, Time Warner/Turner Broadcasting, Discovery, NBC, NHK, Disney, Deutsche Welle and Merlin.
GE Capital, with assets of over US$300 billion, is a global, diversified financial services company with 28 specialized businesses. A wholly-owned subsidiary of General Electric Company, GE Capital, based in Stamford, CT, provides equipment management, mid-market and specialized financing, specialty insurance and a variety of consumer services, such as car leasing, home mortgages and credit cards, to businesses and individuals around the world. GE is a diversified manufacturing, technology and services company with operations worldwide.
Contact: Monica Morgan
609-987-4143
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