We are Heroes because we care – it’s one of our key values and sits at the core of who we are and what we do. That’s why we have a dedicated month to volunteering – it brings a unique opportunity to our employees and allows us to spotlight this special quality across our global business – reminding Heroes how important it is to come together, celebrate our values and give back to local communities.
How it all began
It all started back in 2018 when a group of employees explored opportunities to give back in a meaningful way. The group identified a few initiatives and word quickly spread amongst the organization. Overwhelmed by the interest and inundated with requests to participate, the initiative was quickly developed into a month-long event with a whole program of volunteering options. Now in its sixth year, the program has grown from strength to strength and spread to our global entities, with Delivery Hero’s network of brands now participating with local employees – proving that our international community holds the same values across our ecosystem.
For those who don’t know, Hero Month is an initiative that runs throughout the month of October and every year our employees show no sign of hesitation by signing up to participate in a range of activities with the shared aim of giving back in a meaningful way. This year was no different with most sessions being completely booked up before the month even started! This led our Heroes to get even more creative, with many becoming self initiated Volunteer Captains, which enabled them to organize their own activities and create even more opportunities for others to give back.
What went down?
Sporty Heroes managed to combine a love of running with volunteering by organizing a ‘plogging’ session. The activity combines litter picking and jogging to create an exciting afternoon which saw keen runners from across the company clear green spaces, roads and walkways of rubbish within a 5km radius of the Delivery Hero HQ office in Berlin.
Aspiring chefs and sandwich makers got to work by preparing 200+ sandwiches for the homeless. The session started with an informative talk about the housing crisis in Germany, confronting statistics and stories of how some find themselves in difficult living conditions. This inspired participants who spent the afternoon slicing, buttering, loading, wrapping and labeling loaves with an array of fillings that would be distributed at shelters across the city.
Other projects included clearing and planting at local garden projects, repainting a housing shelter for refugees, nurturing tree seedlings to support new tree plantations outside of the city, sorting second hand clothes at a local center for families in need, litter picking (without the jogging!) and much, much more. This was reflected by some impressive stats with over 200+ employees getting involved who clocked up almost 1,000 volunteering hours, with many Heroes signing up for multiple activities across the month.
Building a sense of community
Not only did it bring a sense of community to our Heroes and give them a chance to connect outside of the office, Hero Month gives employees a unique sense of satisfaction and fulfilment, by dedicating time to help others in need. With 97% of participants confirming that they would love to volunteer again – this is a surefire sign that the initiative will continue to be a success as we head into 2024. Not only did participants walk away with full hearts, they also got hold of some impressive merchandise – shiny new pins were distributed amongst participants and worn with pride to heighten that all important sense of community.
Still interested in learning more? Check out the wrap up video below!
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