Volunteering at Boehringer: Global impact through local engagement

More Potential

Boehringer Ingelheim’s Employee Volunteering Engagement program not only offers a unique chance to make a difference in the world. It also combines two aspects which embody what we stand for – social impact and sustainability. Employees can choose from one of these focus areas, according to their passions and skills:

Improving Health and Wellbeing of People and Animals
Environmental Activities and Advancing Education in Science
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

We offer both skills-based and hands-on volunteering opportunities in these focus areas. Whether Boehringer employees are mentoring a social entrepreneur or teaching about hygiene and sanitation: Volunteers are not just making a positive social impact, but expanding their own horizons in meaningful ways. “I learned a lot from the people I worked with,” is a sentence you’ll often hear. And where each initiative is tailored to the specific needs of local communities, they align with our global goals to create social impact and improve lives in underserved populations.

Portugal

Arrifes,
Portugal

Lisbon,
Portugal

Sernancelhe,
Portugal

Amareleja,
Portugal

Barcelona,
Spain

France

Paris,
France

Lyon,
France

Toulouse,
France

Remis,
France

Milan,
Italy

Bungoma County,
Kenya

Harare,
Zimbabwe

Tengger Desert,
Inner Mongolia

India

Chennai,
India

Bangalore,
India

Kolkata,
India

Southeast Asia
and Australia

Sydney,
Australia

Manila,
Philippines

Bogor,
Indonesia

Thuc Duc,
Vietnam

Singapore,
Malaysia

Ipoh,
Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia

Penang,
Malaysia

Chaco,
South America

São Paulo,
Brazil

USA

Ridgefield-Conneticut,
USA

Duluth - Georgia,
USA

From health literacy to paddling

Boehringer Ingelheim Portugal volunteers have been getting out into their communities to foster face-to-face connections and make a positive impact across a range of areas. Two projects focused on the vital topic of health literacy: Boehringer supported ‘Aldeias Humanitar’ (Humanitarian Villages), an initiative promoting health literacy among older people living in isolated areas, with relevant materials and volunteers who visited the elderly.

At the other end of the age spectrum, Boehringer partnered with various stakeholders to help educate youngsters on health-related issues. Schools had already been benefiting from Boehringer’s “Hour of the book”, an initiative focused on health topics. This program was updated, with books being sold and revenues donated to a charity that works with disadvantaged children. Together with medical societies, new books were written and launched to engage young readers.

Fostering innovation, inclusivity and community engagement in Portugal

Boehringer employees also joined ‘Missão Inovar é Possível’ (Innovation is Possible Mission), an initiative which aligns well with one of our core values. Volunteers brought their industry expertise to the table, and students were challenged to develop a project based on the theoretical launch of a new medicine. And during the inclusive ‘Padel4All’ day, Boehringer employees and people with disabilities mingled to enjoy healthy and fun sporting activities together.

These initiatives were widely shared on social networks, highlighting volunteers’ joy and enthusiasm for their work - while at the same time garnering attention and engagement from broader audiences within the communities. A win-win for all concerned!

Mentoring youth for a brighter future

Studying is an essential, but not always rewarding experience for many young people. That is particularly true in Spain, which has one of the highest school dropout rates in Europe. Colleagues from Boehringer Ingelheim Spain are becoming mentors for youths from underserved communities, motivating them to stay in school and work for a brighter future.

Coach Exit program targets the socially underserved

“Coach Exit” is a corporate volunteering project initiated by “Fundación Exit”, a foundation which Boehringer is collaborating with in Spain. Its aim is to build bridges between the worlds of education and business to motivate socially vulnerable youth to stay in school. The foundation’s mission and core values – trust, innovation and diversity – perfectly align with Boehringer’s culture.

Potential school dropouts partner with Boehringer volunteers

Boehringer colleague Iris Hochmair, Head of Talent Management at Boehringer Ingelheim Spain, explained how the project works: “During six sessions, our employees mentor young people at risk of dropping out. By connecting them to colleagues and fostering teamwork, the volunteers try to motivate them to continue their schooling.” Hochmair is Pillar Lead of MORE POTENTIAL in Spain – one pillar of Boehringer’s commitment to sustainable development aimed at positively impacting people in underserved communities, including in the field of education.

Mentors support students while also learning new skills

“Gratitude and fun best describe this experience,” Sergio Nasi, Head of IT O&L Global Lab Execution, said about his work with “Coach Exit”. Silvia Corretge, Clinical Develop & Operations Manager at Boehringer Ingelheim Spain, agreed: “I am very proud of this satisfactory and useful experience, collaborating not only in an unmet social need but learning so much from their resilience and positive attitude.” Volunteers are not only trained in mentoring techniques that can be applied in their everyday lives. Through the close collaboration with their mentees, they also learn new intergenerational and intercultural communication skills.

Education: The key to job success and future flourishing

The coaches introduce the students to different jobs at Boehringer to raise awareness that a good education is key in the professional world. Since “Coach Exit” kicked off in October 2022, 21 Boehringer employees have participated in the project. The third cohort of the partnership just kicked off, and Spanish colleagues are already asking about the next chance to volunteer. “Our collaboration with Fundación Exit is a win-win and I am happy about the resonance,” is how Olga Salomo, HR Director Spain, summed up the results of a project that is making a positive and lasting impact on generations to come.

French volunteers uniting for impact

Employee volunteering is a cornerstone of Boehringer Ingelheim’s identity. Since 2020, employees have been able to support local associations and contribute to Boehringer’s Sustainable Development for Generations strategy within the pillars MORE HEALTH, MORE POTENTIAL and MORE GREEN. Volunteering helps worthwhile causes, assisting people in need from vulnerable communities. But the benefits can be even greater for the volunteer, because giving to others creates a strong sense of purpose.

In France there is an annual event specifically dedicated to volunteering, the “BI Solidaires Day”. In October 2023, over 600 Boehringer volunteers lent their support to approximately fifty associations across the country, contributing a total of around 2,300 hours of work. Whether on- or off-site, outside or remotely, our French colleagues demonstrated that impactful volunteering requires only a one-time effort when focused.

Creating a thread
of hope in Italy

This story is about the incredible connections that can grow around a strong purpose. And it all started with a single little red thread. In 2023, a group of Boehringer employees came across an initiative by the local non-profit Viva Vittoria that was asking people to “knit wool squares for charity”. They could be any color, design, or kind of wool (preferably recycled). After being donated, the organization would sew the squares together with a red thread to make blankets – and sell these to fund projects supporting abused women and children in need.

What started as a hobby and a way to spend some time together for a good purpose soon became a kind of mission. More and more people from Boehringer’s Milan office joined in. Some could knit, some provided materials, while others offered to involve their aunties, grannies, neighbors and friends. To mark the squares created by Boehringer and make them easily recognizable in the blankets, the team also created a woolen sign – a round smiling face.

Volunteer efforts fuel donations for abused women

The “knitting team” shared what they were doing and launched a call to action to the whole organization. For weeks afterwards, every coffee or lunch break was used to exchange wool and plan new squares. Almost everyone knew the reason for this relentless knitting and had a chance to contribute. In just a few months, Boehringer volunteers made more than 350 squares to create more than 100 blankets. They also acted as sales assistants during the public charity sale in October 2023 where more than 8,000 blankets came together.

But the Boehringer team wanted to achieve even more. On November 25th, the annual International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, Boehringer’s Milan office hosted a private sale which was attended by many colleagues. Thanks to them, a substantial sum of money was able to be donated to Viva Vittoria. This story tells so much about ourselves, and about how we share a strong commitment to make a difference as a team. What impressed us most was the incredible participation of our volunteers, who proudly took part in a story where everyone had a role to play – like many single threads in a huge, colorful, and powerful pattern.

Supporting silk production in Kenya

In June 2023, Oğuz Onbaş, financial controller at Boehringer Ingelheim Turkey, started a virtual collaboration with the Kenyan NGOs Core Health and Wealth International (CHW) and Golden Aged and Albinism Support and Protection Programme (GAASPP), to support a silk farming project in rural Kenya. Working evenings and weekends to help get the project off the ground, Onbaş used his years of experience as a finance controller to give ideas on how to develop the project, to make their business financially sustainable. In August, the collaboration was developed further when Onbaş got a chance to visit the silk farm in Kenya in person.

“It was invaluable to get firsthand insight into what the local communities are experiencing and struggling with in their daily lives. It changes your perspective,” he shares. “Before going there, I had assumed they had roads easy to travel on – which they do not. This is a factor which needs to be taken into consideration.”

After his trip the collaboration continues. Next step: developing a business plan and observing the development of the project. And when Onbaş is asked what he would say to people thinking about volunteering his answer is clear. “Do it. Whatever you can do, whatever you can contribute, you can help create an impact on the lives of the people living in these communities,” he shares and adds: “Seeing that my knowledge and my experiences can help support other people, this is what gives me self-fulfillment.”

MMH Connect is a digital engagement platform which was born out of the success of the Making More Health (MMH) partnership between Boehringer Ingelheim and Ashoka. It connects employees with social entrepreneurs in an innovative way and has been designed to take the MMH experience to a new level: by helping more projects off the ground and accelerating their realization.

Grandmothers saving lives as trained talk therapists

When Giorgio Gatti, Director of IT Data Insights & Advanced Modeling, first joined Boehringer Ingelheim’s Executive in Residence program, he had no idea where his volunteering journey would lead him. Then he met psychiatrist Dr. Dixon Chibanda, founder and CEO of Zimbabwe’s groundbreaking mental health program ‘Friendship Bench’. The two men “clicked” and set about exploring how they could create the greatest possible positive impact together.

Zimbabwe has a population of 15 million, but only 15 psychiatrists - and one of the world’s highest rates of suicide. Dr. Chibanda had first-hand experience of how this was affecting local communities. One day it struck him: “The most reliable resource that we have in Africa are grandmothers, so why not train them to conduct evidence-based talk therapy?” In 2006 he launched the Friendship Bench program, which gets its name from the wooden benches the volunteer therapists sit on when listening to people’s concerns. Since then, more than 2,000 grandmothers have been active in more than 100 communities across Zimbabwe and have already helped more than half a million people. The concept has been so successful that it is now being rolled out globally and can be found in five more countries.

Volunteer therapist listening to a person and their kid

Volunteering is a valuable learning experience

Because Boehringer believes that mental health is an issue of huge concern, it has been a long-time supporter of the Friendship Bench program. Chibanda and Gatti began their collaboration remotely, since Chibanda was working between Zimbabwe and London, and Gatti was based in Italy, leading a team spread across the world. “Beyond the original task of building a digital platform, my role soon extended to mentoring the Friendship Bench team and coaching on various topics,” Gatti explains. The partners still managed to meet in person several times, including during a visit Gatti made to Zimbabwe.

“I realized that being a social entrepreneur means not only changing lives, but also ensuring sustainable practices and navigating challenges without a comprehensive network.”
Giorgio Gatti, Director of IT Data Insights & Advanced Modeling at Boehringer Ingelheim

Once in Africa, Gatti was moved to see how effective the program was and the role that Chibanda was playing in its success. “I realized that being a social entrepreneur means not only changing lives, but also ensuring sustainable practices and navigating challenges without a comprehensive network.” The visit inspired Gatti to think about what more he could contribute, while learning valuable lessons himself.

“Engaging with Dixon and his team impacted me in several ways: I learned to navigate uncertainty by trusting the right people, to be grateful for what I have, and to embrace community-building approaches. These lessons have influenced both my professional leadership - and my personal life.”

A forest for the future in China

In June of 2023, a group of Boehringer Ingelheim employees traveled to the Tengger Desert of Alashan county in Inner Mongolia. Their mission was to inaugurate a young forest of 20,000 trees, which Boehringer donated under the “Million Forest Plan” of the China Green Foundation – and become active as volunteers themselves. In celebration of a significant sales milestone, the team chose to support a sustainability initiative, selecting this project after comprehensive research and collaborative discussions with partners.

Accompanied by Bjoern Sattler, Chief Financial Officer of Boehringer Ingelheim Greater China, 20 volunteers planted 100 new seedlings and carried out maintenance work. The objective is for these native desert shrubs and mixed tree species to grow into so-called “desert-locking forests” to help control and alleviate desertification. This forest covers around 357 acres and will be able to absorb more than 400,000 kg of carbon dioxide in its lifetime.

Committing to a greener planet on all levels

By partnering with the Million Forests project, Boehringer aims to contribute to the creation of a greener and healthier future for the region. “Boehringer Ingelheim’s sustainability and social responsibility philosophy echoes with our concept of planting trees and controlling sand erosion,” says Wu Xiangrong, head of the Alashan Desert Locking Forest Project.

Boehringer is dedicated to achieving sustained progress in key areas of sustainability in China, including energy conservation and emission reduction, renewable energy use, water resource management, green investment, circular economy, and employee green behaviors. On their trip, the volunteers tried to reduce the environmental impact of their travel by taking public transportation, avoiding single-use necessities, and minimizing their carbon footprint as much as possible.

Volunteering for a greener and more sustainable future

Boehringer Ingelheim India demonstrated its commitment to sustainability when more than 550 employees across the country volunteered their time and energy for impactful initiatives. In Kolkata, colleagues banded together and planted 90 fruit tree saplings. In Bangalore, 200 employees crafted tactile materials for visually impaired children. And in Chennai, volunteers assembled 75 solar lamps to bring light to the lives of an Indigenous community, the elderly, and orphaned children.

Thriving together across generations

Through our regional B-Effect program, colleagues delve into the subject of population aging and create innovative ideas to respond to the opportunities and challenges that come with this demographic transition across Southeast Asia, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand.

A megatrend in the region

By 2050, one in four people in Asia-Pacific will be above the age of 60, with the population of older persons (aged over 60) in the region tripling between 2010 and 2050, reaching close to 1.3 billion people.¹

As people live longer and have fewer children, this demographic change megatrend will become one of the most significant social transformations of the twenty-first century, with implications for nearly all sectors of society, family structures and intergenerational ties.²

Unlocking the opportunities of longevity

Good relationships, a sense of purpose in life, and meaningful connections with others were among the most important factors that bolster the health of older adults worldwide³. However, social isolation and loneliness are widespread issues affecting people of all ages – including older individuals⁴. Are we ready to embrace agency and seize the opportunities that come with longer lifespans, while maintaining purposeful and healthy lives?

“As I journey ahead in life, how can I master and lead a productive life? As a caregiver at home, how can I appreciate and communicate more effectively about health with my loved ones? And how can we come together to support the seniors who have been left behind in our communities? These are some of the motivations that inspires me to contribute and rally colleagues to join in, learn and seek solutions together.”
Wulan (Febriani Ambarwulan), GFE Manager and B-Effect representative for Indonesia

For communities and our people

Inspired by the butterfly effect theory that our small actions can create ripples of positive change, a team of ten passionate colleagues has been given the opportunity to lead and curate a nine-months social engagement B-Effect program.

The program aims to foster a community of changemakers within the organization who are passionate about creating sustainable social impact at work. By co-creating solutions with Ashoka and its network of social entrepreneurs involved in the health arena, we can contribute more meaningfully with our skills and expertise.

“Giving back to society is contagious. The B-Effect program allows us to offer our ideas to make an impact in a more sustainable way while providing development opportunities for our employees,” says Prof. Dr. Joerg Kreuzer, Medical Director, Human Pharma, ROPU ASKAN (ASEAN, Korea, Australia & New Zealand). “This complements our efforts in the health equity space and builds on our commitment to co-create healthy, inclusive and sustainable communities.“

Boehringer Ingelheim colleagues visited St Luke’s Eldercare Centre to interact with the older clients in Singapore, Nov 2023

Changemakers taking action

Guided by the program framework, the organizing team narrowed their project focus: How can we prepare and promote intergenerational connections within our local communities to ensure vulnerable older persons have access to supportive social environments?

More than 100 employees across the region took part in a series of learning and design thinking seminars to propose solutions to existing operational topics faced by social entrepreneurs in the Longevity domain, such as Alzheimer’s Indonesia, Techie Seniors and Carers Worldwide.

The exchange of ideas and cross-sector sharing ultimately produced the ‘Match & Chat’ game. This simple interactive activity, enjoyed by all ages, aims to encourage cross-generational bonding and dialogue. The game could be utilized by anyone, anywhere – at home, at the workplace and in community settings.

By incorporating conversation prompts about past successes, interests, and future ambitions, the game elevates the traditional memory matching card game. It serves as an effective tool to deepen empathy and mutual respect among generations while also improving mental agility.

Boehringer Ingelheim Korea and Vietnam colleagues and nursing home residents bonded over the B-Effect Match & Chat game cards in Seoul and Thu Duc respectively, Oct 2023

Adding life to our years

Indeed, more collaborative efforts are required to address the systemic challenges of longevity. The program aims to find synergies to tackle the multifaceted issues that social entrepreneurs face, hindering the advancement of their social mission, and to scale-up our local efforts to build quality opportunities for intergenerational connections.

As they say, life is not determined by the cards you were dealt but how you play your hand. We need to reframe our perspectives on aging, create supportive and inclusive environments that enable people to thrive as valued contributors, regardless of age.

Created a ‘Match & Chat’ game as an intervention to meaningful intergenerational social connections within families and communities.
Over 100 employees volunteered at eldercare facilities across Southeast Asia, South Korea, and Australia.
Over 100 employees participated in a series of learning and design thinking seminars with 5 social entrepreneurs in the Longevity domain.

https://asiapacific.unfpa.org/en/topics/ageing-6

https://asiapacific.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/200930_unfpa_ageing_catalouge_layout-3.pdf

https://www.mckinsey.com/mhi/our-insights/age-is-just-a-number-how-older-adults-view-healthy-aging

⁴

https://www.who.int/teams/social-determinants-of-health/demographic-change-and-healthy-ageing/social-isolation-and-loneliness

To go fast, go alone; to go far, go together

Eduardo Sorlino is an executive in Argentina who activated his colleagues to become changemakers.

Every year, the MMH Executive in Residence Program (EIR) fosters high-impact collaborations between Boehringer Ingelheim executives and system-changing social entrepreneurs (Ashoka Fellows) for a period of six months. During this time, they work remotely to address a challenge critical to the growth of the social entrepreneur’s organization, and at the end of the process, executives are in residence for one to four weeks. The result: a mutual learning journey in which social entrepreneurs can maximize the impact of their solutions and employees gain essential new skills, as well as innovative approaches to apply in their day-to-day work.

Starting a changemaking journey – together

Sorlino, General Manager and Human Pharma Head APUB (Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay & Bolivia), joined EIR in 2022 and was matched with the Ashoka Fellow Gustavo Farrugia, founder of La Higuera, located in Chaco, a province in the north of Argentina. This organization provides vulnerable communities with high-quality medical care through a new system that brings together medical expertise, the institutional capacity of universities and public agencies, and the active participation of local people in their own healthcare.

From the beginning, Sorlino decided to expand the limits of the program, which establishes a one-to-one collaboration. He felt the need to impart a collective meaning to this experience: “When I started, I made a decision: I was not going to participate in the program alone, and I invited three collaborators of my team to join me.”

Diverse team, brighter solutions

To get to know the teams and organizations, the collaboration started with virtual meetings between La Higuera, Boehringer and Ashoka staff. But, as Sorlino shares, “The most exciting part was when my colleagues and I travelled to Chaco, where we spent three days working with the organization in the field.” Following this trip, the group of Boehringer employees, with diverse profiles and areas of expertise, understood the main challenges and needs of the vulnerable communities they had been working with. This allowed them to identify the opportunities to contribute to addressing these issues. As Ezequiel Pasman, Corporate Affairs Leader APUB, states: “Eduardo aimed for his team not only to gain field experience, but also contribute to solving a social problem.”

Cecilia Miranda, Animal Health Communications Manager and MMH Leader for South America, is one of the colleagues Sorlino invited to join this collaboration. To her, being able to work with a diverse group of teammates was key to building the projects that support the work of La Higuera:

“Having people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and motivations within the team brought different perspectives; each one of us identified unique opportunities for collaboration to create a bigger positive impact in the community.”

A lasting cross-sectorial collaboration

“We returned with enthusiasm and inspiration which we brought to our virtual and in-office meetings with La Higuera, where we continued our work to transform our experience in the field into concrete opportunities to collaborate,” Sorlino explains.

After this dynamic process, both organizations agreed on a project plan, including two main initiatives. The first one, focused on animal health, looks to raise awareness in the community around hydatid disease prevention and reinforce the importance of vaccination and deworming. The second initiative addresses the drawbacks in the current method of recording medical data from patients, which is related to the lack of devices and effective software in the field. Although the patients’ data is gathered on paper by the doctors in rural communities, it’s later digitized in an office based in Santa Fe, another Argentinian province, creating inefficient information management. Leveraging the digital expertise of the IT HUB in Boehringer Ingelheim Argentina, this project aims to improve the process for better care and follow-up of patients.

Although the EIR collaboration officially ended in 2022, this group of Boehringer employees from Argentina, deeply committed to the work of La Higuera, continues to implement these projects in 2023. They now realize how their daily work can contribute to creating a positive impact on society, and how their collective effort builds bridges between business and social aspects — just like the essence of the MMH partnership.

At home on the streets

Cintia Rizzo is dedicated to looking after the four-legged companions of São Paulo’s homeless. Find out more about how, with Boehringer’s support, she is helping people and animals.

One cold, wet August morning in wintry São Paulo, Rizzo, a tall woman with bright eyes, steps out onto the forecourt of the Theatro Municipal in the historic city center. Where it would usually be empty, today the space is teeming with cats and dogs. Their owners crowd into the entrances of the surrounding stores, which remain closed today. Some are wrapped in a blanket, some are lying exposed on the street. These are the city’s inhabitants – “an estimated 50,000 homeless people, many of whom share their lives with animals,” says Rizzo – who populate freeway bridges, doorways, sidewalks, and every corner of this densely populated Brazilian metropolis, because they have no home.

Rizzo’s arrival seems to bring an air of anticipation to this city, with its uneasy juxtaposition of immense wealth in towering skyscrapers and sprawling poverty in the streets. It is the last Sunday of the month. The day when Rizzo and other volunteers from the NGO ‘Moradores de Rua e Seus Cães’ (Homeless People and their Dogs) customarily provide much-needed support to the homeless and their pets.

Their dogs mean the world to them

Today, under the two large canopies with the Boehringer logo, dogs and cats are being supplied with donations, as well as with vaccinations and other veterinary medications. Rizzo immediately gets to work, pulling out dog blankets from boxes, with a warm smile for everyone around her. “For the people who call these streets their home, their dogs are their world,” she says as she confidently strokes a fluffy dog who is about to be given a dog coat for the winter. “But caring for these faithful companions – especially medically – can be a seemingly insurmountable challenge. It breaks my heart: I immediately have my own dog Lola in mind.”

At an internal company event in 2022, Rizzo got to know the NGO ‘Moradores de Rua e Seus Cães’. During the working week, she is a communication manager in the Corporate Affairs department at Boehringer in Brazil. “That day, I saw what the NGO does for the people and their animals here – they provide them with food, clothing, and animal supplies. I saw how we can offer additional support with vaccinations and veterinary medicine. That’s when I knew that we should become active here as a long-term partner,” says Rizzo, describing her first impressions. “And that I personally would also like to continue offering my support here on the ground.”

Every action counts

At the end of the day, Rizzo is convinced: “If, together with our company, I can support people and animals by giving them access to medical care, vaccines, or even just a better day, the impact we can achieve here is really huge.”

What Rizzo never seems to lose, despite all the difficult life stories she is confronted with when doing this work, is her unwavering optimism that she can make a difference. “I believe that every little action counts,” she says.

“If we really want to help change life for the better for animals and people, then we can contribute to a more authentic world – for this generation and for future ones.”

Skills2Give: A new chapter in volunteering

The Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation has partnered with Catchafire, an organization which makes skills-based connections between professional volunteers and non-profits, to create a new opportunity for our volunteers. Skills2Give connects employees with diverse expertise – from IT to marketing – with non-profit organizations who need their support. The program has seen enthusiastic participation, with Boehringer volunteers taking on roles that significantly enhance the operational capacities of these organizations.

“It was an incredibly rewarding experience and privilege to participate in the Skills2Give Rapid Fire volunteering activity during our recent team onsite event,” said James Chau, Associate Director, Corporate Affairs Digital Communications Advisor. A Rapid Fire is an in-person three-hour volunteering session where teams of employees meet with non-profits to brainstorm and solve real-life challenges. “It was amazing working alongside other Boehringer employees to come up with fundraising ideas,” Chau continued. “We collaborated with Embracing You, a national non-profit dedicated to supporting single parents and children by offering assistance such as financial support, educational programs, childcare services, and emotional guidance.”

In 2023, over 800 employees took part in Skills2Give and reached 22 non-profits, donated 1000+ hours, and generated an estimated value of more than $450,000¹ for these organizations. The Skills2Give program continues to build a legacy of meaningful corporate community involvement, setting a standard for future corporate volunteering endeavors.

To learn more about Skills2Give, visit Boehringer Ingelheim [Case Study] | Catchafire

First award recipient with a strong personal dedication

Jim Hunsicker’s story is a testament to the transformative power of volunteerism. Recognized as the first recipient of the Boehringer Ingelheim Cares Foundation (Boehringer Cares) Volunteer Legacy Award, his journey with the Skills2Give program is inspirational.

Hunsicker’s dedication to leveraging his skills in HR, marketing, and graphic design has created a lot of value for non-profit organizations. He has generated an estimated value of more than $28,000² worth of value across four nonprofits in the areas of STEM education and food insecurity. His personal commitment shines through in his statement: “My volunteering experience with Skills2Give has been incredibly rewarding. It’s about making a lasting impact, one project at a time.”

^1,2

Project value estimates calculated by Catchafire: https://blog.catchafire.org/project-values

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