Enable employees to give more, and your company gets more— more workplace satisfaction, more enthusiasm and more high fives when you’re working side-by-side to help others. That’s because Americans who volunteer through their jobs say that the volunteer-time makes them feel better about their employers. Employee volunteer opportunities include:
Hands Only CPR (In-person or virtual)
We all know that CPR saves lives, but did you know that CPR has been made simpler? With the new Hands Only technique, you only use your hands. No mouth-to-mouth contact or counting is involved. For employees like yours, this new method provides a high-energy activity that makes everyone in your workplace and community safer.
- A CPR training session can be hosted digitally or in-person and on-site or off.
- Hands Only CPR training takes as little as 30 minutes.
Be Red Cross Ready (In-person or virtual)
Preparing now can make a lifesaving difference when a disaster strikes. This digital or in-person session includes information on how to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters, focusing on those most likely to affect you employees’ local communities.
- Participants learn why preparing is critical and build confidence in their ability to prepare.
- Explains and demonstrates how preparing helps in the case of a disaster.
Missing Maps (In-person or virtual)
While we take maps for granted in the U.S.—accessing them with just a few taps on our phones—they’re limited in many places, where they can truly mean the difference between life and death. With detailed maps, first responders and humanitarian aid organizations respond faster following disasters, plus they help communities become better prepared in advance of these tumultuous events. Mapathons are free, easy and quick. In 90 minutes to two hours, your employees can map vulnerable communities around the world. Here’s how it works:
- On a special website, your employees review satellite images of vulnerable areas.
- With a mouse, they trace the roads and add details like buildings.
- Their work is sent to volunteers with knowledge of the local area, who add details like street names and evacuation centers.
- These new maps are available to anyone online and are heavily used by organizations like the Red Cross to prepare communities and help save lives.
Preparedness Kit Builds
Disasters can strike suddenly—anytime and anywhere—but a preparedness kit can provide many of life’s essentials. During a kit build, your employees will construct their own kits using provided materials, which they then take home or keep in the workplace.
- Kits can be customized to for specific kinds of disasters that are common locally.
- The build can be hosted on-site or at your local Red Cross.
- In addition to keeping kits, employees can donate them to vulnerable communities.
First Aid Kit Builds
Injuries and sudden illnesses can be frightening, but a first aid kit gives your employees the tools they need to help. During a First Aid Kit Build, they will use provided gauze, bandages, and other materials to build their own kits, which they can keep anywhere—from their workspaces to their vehicles to their homes.
- Kits can be customized to meet specific first aid needs.
- A first aid kit build can be hosted on-site or at your local Red Cross.
- In addition to keeping kits, employees can donate them to local organizations or community groups.
Lunch & Learn (In-person or virtual)
Did you know the Red Cross responds to nearly 180 disasters a day and has helped vaccinate more than 2 billion people worldwide with our partners? During a Lunch & Learn, a Red Cross regional executive, disaster preparedness manager or other leader can discuss our work locally, nationally or around the world.
- Presentations can be customized to meet specific employee interests, ranging from home fires to fighting measles.
- Presentations can be made during the lunch hour or at appropriate shift-changes, digitally or in-person.
- Presentations usually last 20 to 45 minutes, with time for Q&A.
Partnership Open House
Did you know that nearly 170 times a day, Red Cross workers help a family affected by a home fire or other disaster? A Partnership Open House serves as an opportunity for corporate partners and their employees to visit their local chapter and see all that the Red Cross does to assist the community.
- Employees tour their local Red Cross during this one- to three-hour engagement.
- Participants can chat with Red Cross employees and volunteers.
- It’s a great opportunity to learn about volunteer opportunities
Workplace Giving (In-person or virtual)
Like most Americans, your employees turn to the Red Cross when they want to help. Why not support their enthusiasm for our mission by collecting funds for the Red Cross? With co-branded, turn-key materials and customized online giving portals, it’s easy to feature us in your annual campaign or to accept donations following a disaster.
- Donations can be accepted online through a co-branded microsite.
- Local Red Cross representatives can attend an employee function to discuss how local donations are put to work.
- Consider making matching gifts to boost employee participation.
Pre-Event Smoke Alarm Canvassing
Though home fires are our most common disaster threat, too many homes lack working smoke alarms. Sadly, the majority of fire deaths occur in these homes, according to the National Fire Protection Association. During canvassing, volunteers go door-to-door, speaking with residents about the importance of smoke alarms and introducing our free smoke alarm installation service. By delivering Red Cross fire safety information directly to area homes, your employees can help save neighbors’ lives.
- Prior to a smoke alarm installation day, employees visit communities that are vulnerable to home fires.
- Canvassing is a half-day engagement.
- Fire safety materials are provided to keep in the workplace.
Smoke Alarm Installations (Sound the Alarm)
According to the National Fire Protection Association, when people die from home fires, it’s usually in homes where smoke alarms don’t function or don’t exist. That’s why an army of Red Cross volunteers are installing smoke alarms across the country. Your employees can join them. Going door-to-door, they will install smoke alarms and help families make emergency plans.
- Employees visit communities that are vulnerable to home fires.
- Installations are a half-day engagement.
- Fire safety materials are provided to keep in the workplace.
