Eden Prairie, Minn., July 23, 2012 -- GE's Global Community Days effort kicks off in the Twin Cities on July 23 and will run through Aug. 15. During this initiative, GE partners with local non-profit organizations to complete volunteer projects to make an impact on the local community. This year, 170 GE employees will provide an estimated 1,100 volunteer hours across 12 events.
Volunteers from GE Capital Fleet Services will build a playground to give children a safe place to play, create healthy snack packs and hygiene kits for people in shelters, stuff teddy bears to bring to children in hospitals, complete two landscaping projects, renovate several rooms and more.
The Twin Cities events are part of the broader GE Global Community Days, an initiative in its ninth year. Each year as part of this focused volunteer effort, thousands of GE employees and retirees from around the world participate in hundreds of service projects covering local issues such as education, community building, health and the environment. The volunteer projects serve tens of thousands of people in need.
"We're honored to be helping our community again this year through our Global Community Days efforts," said Julie Opheim, senior operations leader for GE Capital Fleet Services and leader of the local Global Community Days initiative. "In the Twin Cities, we've put together a variety of volunteer activities to offer our employees the opportunity to give their time to organizations that align with their passions."
This year, the GE Volunteers in the Twin Cities continue to focus on community building and supporting a healthier community. The majority of the projects were planned with the help of the United Way Caring Connection and will benefit local United Way agencies.
Below are a few events that will be completed in the Twin Cities:
Second Harvest Heartland West
Packaging and Sorting Food
Tuesday, July 24, 9 a.m.-12 p.m. & Thursday, July 26, 1-4 p.m.
6325 Sandburg Rd. Suite 1700, Golden Valley, Minn.
GE Volunteers at Second Harvest will be sorting and packing food from food drives and donations as well as re-packaging bulk food items. The food goes to partner agencies including food shelves and soup kitchens.
Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery
Painting Nurseries & Landscaping
Wednesday, July 25, 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.
5400 Glenwood Avenue Golden Valley, Minn.
Groups of GE Volunteers will paint six nurseries over the course of a week and revamp the front landscaping for the Greater Minneapolis Crisis Nursery. The Crisis Nursery's mission is to end child abuse and neglect and create strong, healthy families.
Cornerstone Advocacy
Playground Build
Wednesday, Aug. 1, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
1000 East 80th St. Bloomington, Minn.
The team of GE Volunteers that spends time at Cornerstone Advocacy will be building a playground to provide children who live in Cornerstone apartments a safe place to play.
Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners
End of Summer Party
Wednesday, Aug. 15, 12:30-4:15 p.m.
Parkers Lake Park, Plymouth, Minn.
GE Volunteers will be putting on an end of summer party for about 125 children who participate in Camp CONECT. The volunteers will run several activity stations focused on promoting physical activity and having fun.
GE Volunteers -- a group of GE employees and retirees -- work to improve their local communities by donating their time and money in community-enhancement projects. Today, there are 225 GE Volunteer Councils located in over 51 countries around the world, each responsible for mobilizing volunteers around serious issues facing their communities.
About GE Capital, Fleet Services
GE Capital, Fleet Services, based in Eden Prairie, Minn., is a global fleet management company with operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Visit the website at gefleet.com or follow the company's eco news and updates via Twitter (@GEFleetSvcs).
GE Capital offers consumers and businesses around the globe an array of financial products and services. For more information, visit www.gecapital.com or follow company news via Twitter (@GECapital). GE (NYSE: GE) works on things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home, transportation and finance. Building, powering, moving and curing the world. Not just imagining. Doing. GE works. For more information, visit the company's website at www.ge.com.
Allison Perkins
GE Capital Americas
[email protected]
1-203-229-1447
1-203-216-2695