General Mills Employees Think Global, Volunteer Local April 19 - 23

General Mills Celebrates 82 Percent of Employees Who Volunteer As Part of National Volunteer Week

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, and National Volunteer Week, General Mills is kicking off a coordinated series of global volunteer projects through a program called “Think Global, Volunteer Local.”

During the week of April 19 – 23, General Mills employees from Murfreesboro, Tenn., to Mumbai, India to Minneapolis are volunteering as the company supports two General Mills values - volunteerism and sustainability. Up to 2,000 employees are participating in environmentally focused volunteer efforts ranging from cleaning local beaches and city streets, to planting trees in parks, to rebuilding perches for birds to repairing inner city homes.

“We’re proud of the incredible work our employees across the globe are doing every day in the community. This coordinated event reminds us how together we can make a big difference,” said Ellen Luger, executive director of the General Mills Foundation and a General Mills vice president.

A company survey found that 82 percent of U.S. employees volunteer either through company programs or independently. Nearly 60 percent of employees spend up to five hours a month serving in their community. The leading cause areas include: children and youth; community/civic work; hunger issues and housing/homelessness. General Mills also has a robust retiree volunteer program with retirees volunteering a total of 8,000 hours over the last year.

Volunteerism leverages the company’s philanthropic giving. In fiscal 2009, General Mills awarded $91 million to communities across the country, which represents more than 5 percent of company pretax profits that year and is up 4.3 percent over fiscal 2008. Of the total, the Foundation contributed $21 million in grants in the targeted areas of hunger and nutrition wellness, education, social services, and arts and culture. In March, the company received three Summit Awards from United Way Worldwide in Corporate Philanthropy, Community Investment and Community Impact.