At AstraZeneca, we’re committed to making a positive impact on people, society, and planet. We celebrate our colleagues who dedicate their time and talents towards volunteer work that makes their communities a little brighter. AstraZeneca's Power of Us program empowers our US-based employees to go out and do good for the charitable causes they are passionate about. It not only supports employee-led volunteering projects, but also offers corporate donation matching on employee donations to eligible nonprofit organizations. We’re proud to highlight a few of our employees who exemplify our dedication to serving the communities where we live and work.
I love being able to help meet people’s needs. The fact that AstraZeneca recognizes the importance of volunteering and has a commitment to it really helps.
Sharon has volunteered for 19 years at Open Table, Inc., an organization whose mission is to end hunger and provide the local community with healthy food. She assists with food distribution using their drive-through model. She greets clients, lets them know the foods available that week, and collaborates with the volunteers stocking food indoors.
Sharon finds it incredibly rewarding to give back to her community. Since many of the clients she serves do not speak English as their primary language, she has started learning other languages to communicate with them more comfortably. Due to the flexible schedules available to AstraZeneca employees, on the days she volunteers, she comes into work early and leaves early to volunteer during late afternoons. This allows her to serve her community at the time they need it most.
If you’re interested in volunteering, think of the things you’re passionate about, the area you work in, and start there.
Marie has worked with the Alliance for Responsible Pet Ownership (ARPO) since 2019, and has since become Treasurer on their Board of Directors. Her daughter was in Girl Scouts and had volunteered at animal rescues before, but wanted to get more involved. Their family then signed up to foster through ARPO. She has fostered 210 cats and 4 puppies through their program, completing over 200 hours of service in the past year. The organization helps manage background checks for potential fosters, match up pets with homes, and ensures quality of care for the pets.
AstraZeneca’s commitment to employee volunteerism greatly impacts Marie’s ability to volunteer. She appreciates having a flexible schedule and management that values both volunteerism and work-life balance. She recently took a day off of work to showcase kittens to be adopted on TV. Our employees can take advantage of two days of paid volunteer leave to dedicate their time to community service or a cause they care about. She also uses the Power of Us portal to donate to ARPO in order to match her donation, doubling her contribution.
Support for people to volunteer for the places you choose makes this a great place to work. I get to tell my colleagues what I do and how it impacts the greater community.
Charlotte dedicated over 430 hours of her time in the past year to volunteering with the Scouting of America National Capital Area Council (formerly the Boy Scouts of America) and the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital. As a Merit Badge Coordinator and Assistant Scout Master for the Boy Scouts, she helps the scouts dive deep into topics like environmental science, camping, community service, and other important issues and life skills. She creates opportunities for the scouts to become experts in these subjects to earn their merit badges, and acts as a liaison between the scouts and adults. As a Girl Scout Troop Leader, she helps the scouts instill self-confidence, manages annual cookie sales, and teaches valuable lessons about the world around them.
Due to AstraZeneca employees’ ability to take two days off per year to volunteer, Charlotte has the time to serve as a female adult lead for summer camp. With a female adult present, scouts of any gender are able to go on trips, so this is crucial to their troop. Now that girls are able to join Boy Scout activities, both groups are able to learn and develop as a greater community and share in unique scouting experiences that help form positive personal values and independence. Charlotte is grateful to support this initiative in her community and in her own family with her children, who are both scouts themselves.
