More than 55,000 volunteers from Deloitte in India helped skill local communities and invest time and efforts to conserve the environment as part of the annual Impact Day.
The day allows volunteers from Deloitte in India an opportunity to give back to society. The virtual, in-office and on-the-ground projects across more than 500 locations saw over four lakh individuals getting actively involved during the 21st annual Impact Day. The project themes this year included education and skills, empowerment, healthcare, animal welfare and sustainability.
Volunteer project leaders, from across domains and ranks, pick causes they are committed to and collaborate with internal teams as well as non-profit organisations to plan day-long programmes. Volunteer team members register for projects that resonate with their interests and matter to them, and dedicate an entire working day to making an impact.
By volunteering to create an impact, the individuals not only manage to build leadership and organisational skills, but end up being more empathetic and sensitive towards the needs of diverse groups of people. In doing so, they also experience a sense of purpose.
Most of the projects are aligned with Deloitte’s “world-wide priorities of education and skill-building, as well as mitigating factors leading to climate change,” as revealed by PN Sudarshan, partner and corporate responsibility leader, Deloitte India. In fact, it is “one of the core elements of the company’s talent experience”. Through the Impact Day, volunteers are able to make “a meaningful long-term commitment to deserving causes.”
The company encourages its people to “set aside up to 20 working hours a year for such endeavours, over and above Impact Day,” shares Sudarshan. It is a “collective collective goal to drive positive change in our local communities,” says Kent Francois, regional managing principal, Deloitte LLP.