Apple Launches 'Global Volunteer Program' to Encourage Employees to Volunteer in Local Communities

Apple today notified its employees about a new volunteer program that it's launching, which is designed to encourage Apple employees in select locations to volunteer in their local communities.

Under the new Apple Global Volunteer Program, Apple is offering employees a way to receive training and tools to help them create and publicize local volunteer events to better their communities. The program, currently available in the United States, Sydney, and Cork, also aims to help employees find activities to volunteer for.

apple_retail_employees

Since its launch in 2011, the Apple Matching Gifts Program has been an astounding success, with a combined total of over $78 million donated to charities and non-profits around the world. Now employees in the U.S. have a new way to make an even bigger impact on the causes they care about where they live: the Apple Global Volunteer Program. The program empowers employees to become Volunteer Champions and receive training and tools to help organize and publicize volunteer events in their communities. It also makes it easy for employees to find activities where they can volunteer their time and qualify for Matching Gifts. Right now we're piloting the program in the U.S., Sydney, and Cork with the goal of expanding it worldwide in the future.

The launch of the Apple Global Volunteer Program comes just months after Apple made efforts to expand employee benefit packages under the direction Denise Young Smith, who took over as head of human resources at Apple early last year. Improved benefits included more maternity/paternity leave for parents, educational reimbursements, and an expansion of Apple's long-running donation matching program.

Apple's Matching Gifts Program [PDF] has existed since 2011, seeing the company match the money its employees contribute to charities (up to $10,000 per employee per year), but with the expansion, Apple also began matching time volunteered. As of October 2014, Apple donates $25 per hour to any non-profit where an employee volunteers.

As stated in the memo sent to employees, Apple's charitable efforts have thus far raised a combined total of $78 million for charities and non-profit organizations around the world.

Top Rated Comments

kiantech Avatar
118 months ago
not like you have any iOS bugs to fix or anything.

Why am I not surprised this comment is here.
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
farewelwilliams Avatar
118 months ago
not like you have any iOS bugs to fix or anything.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Alith Avatar
118 months ago
Or they could just reduce their massive and ethically incomprehensible tax avoidance, which would pump money into communities commensurate with the amount of money they make out of those communities and act as a shining example for all the other multinationals that take the piss as well.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
madsci954 Avatar
118 months ago
not like you have any iOS bugs to fix or anything.

Right, because Apple only has 1 team that does EVERYTHING!
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
IJ Reilly Avatar
118 months ago
Does anyone know if there is an Apple internal "approved charity list" or does any local jurisdiction non-profit qualify?

Presumably any charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) of the tax code would qualify.

----------

It's things like this that make me think I'd hate to work for Apple.

And it's also why you'd probably never get a job there.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
iSee Avatar
118 months ago
not like you have any iOS bugs to fix or anything.

That this is the first reaction to this news is pretty sad.

Oh well, I guess to be first, it helps if there is no thought or depth behind it.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

reset password request iphone

Warning: Apple Users Targeted in Phishing Attack Involving Rapid Password Reset Requests

Tuesday March 26, 2024 4:34 pm PDT by
Phishing attacks taking advantage of Apple's password reset feature have become increasingly common, according to a report from KrebsOnSecurity. Multiple Apple users have been targeted in an attack that bombards them with an endless stream of notifications or multi-factor authentication (MFA) messages in an attempt to cause panic so they'll respond favorably to social engineering. An...
maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
Generic iOS 18 Feature Purple

iOS 18: What to Expect From 'Biggest' Update in iPhone's History

Wednesday March 27, 2024 11:10 am PDT by
At least some Apple software engineers continue to believe that iOS 18 will be the "biggest" update in the iPhone's history, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Below, we recap rumored features and changes for the iPhone. "The iOS 18 update is expected to be the most ambitious overhaul of the iPhone's software in its history, according to people working on the upgrade," wrote Gurman, in a r...
maxresdefault

Apple Announces WWDC 2024 Event for June 10 to 14

Tuesday March 26, 2024 10:02 am PDT by
Apple today announced that its 35th annual Worldwide Developers Conference is set to take place from Monday, June 10 to Friday, June 14. As with WWDC events since 2020, WWDC 2024 will be an online event that is open to all developers at no cost. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. WWDC 2024 will include online sessions and labs so that developers can learn about new...
apple maps 3d feature

Apple Maps May Gain Custom Routes With iOS 18

Tuesday March 26, 2024 3:10 pm PDT by
Apple may be planning to add support for "custom routes" in Apple Maps in iOS 18, according to code reviewed by MacRumors. Apple Maps does not currently offer a way to input self-selected routes, with Maps users limited to Apple's pre-selected options, but that may change in iOS 18. Apple has pushed an iOS 18 file to its maps backend labeled "CustomRouteCreation." While not much is revealed...
General iOS 17 Feature Orange Purple

Apple Releases Revised Versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 With Updated Build Number

Wednesday March 27, 2024 5:59 am PDT by
Apple on late Tuesday released revised versions of iOS 17.4.1 and iPadOS 17.4.1 with an updated build number of 21E237, according to MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris. The updates previously had a build number of 21E236. The revised updates are available for all iPhone and iPad models that are compatible with iOS 17 and iPadOS 17, but they can only be installed via the Finder app on macOS...
applephilschiller

Apple's Phil Schiller Works 80 Hours a Week Overseeing App Store

Wednesday March 27, 2024 2:03 pm PDT by
With the App Store and app ecosystem undergoing major changes in the European Union, The Wall Street Journal today shared a profile on App Store chief Phil Schiller, who is responsible for the App Store. Though Schiller transitioned from marketing chief to "Apple Fellow" in 2020 to take a step back from Apple and spend more time on personal projects and friends, he is reportedly working...