OMMUNITY HEROE + American Workers Find New WaysTo Give (NAPSA)—Even in challenging times, Americans have found ways to give back to their communities. In fact, recent numbers from the Corporation for National & Community Service show that more than 60 million volunteers dedicated more than 8 billion hours of service to community organizations in oneyear alone. If youre looking to get involved, these tips may help: Donate Skills—Whether you're an accountant, a stay-at- home momor a carpenter, chances are you have skills that could help a charitable organization. Donate Time—Evenhalf an hour a week can make a difference when it comes to helping a not-for-profit group. Go To Work—Manybusinesses give employees a chance to get involved with not-for-profits. In fact, United Way—a nonprofit worldwide network including nearly 1,300 local organizations in the U.S.—says that employees and companies donated more than $4 billion annually and volunteered thousands of hours to help strengthen local communities. For instance, employees from Eli Lilly and Company helped boost literacy rates by serving as tutors through United Way of Central Indiana’s ReadUPprogram. Additionally, for their inaugural global day of service, 22,000 of the company’s employees volunteered 38,000 hours in more than 55 countries around the world. Giving Back Companies such as General Mills, Inc., were also active in helping communities. The company’s employees volunteered to help low-income people with free tax preparation and participated in United Way volunteer projects such as cleaning homes devastated by floods and packing and sorting American workers have donated millions of hours and dollars to communities. food for families in need. More than 82 percent of its employees volunteer. Similarly, Kellogg Company saw its employees collect more than 7,300 poundsof food in one day to donate, while other employees participated in reading challenges or packed backpacks with school supplies. Employees from Wells Fargo volunteered nearly 788,000 hours. Efforts included building 170 homes, providing free banking classes and volunteering more than 4,000 hours to provide free tax preparation services. The employees at Williams are also active in the community, and the company is knownfor its creative fundraisers—which included events ranging from karaoke to Wii tournaments—and for its annual United Way volunteer day, when more than 2,000 employees volunteered at United Way and community partners across the country. For more information or tips on getting involved, www.liveunited.org. visit
