Impact Day, along with other year-round volunteering opportunities, forms a key implementation pathway for WorldClass and WorldClimate, Deloitte Global initiatives.
Mumbai (India CSR): For the 20th leg of its annual Impact Day initiative, volunteers from Deloitte in India undertook both in-person and virtual projects. The focus was on improving learning outcomes among students from underserved communities as well as facilitating environmental awareness and engaging in activities to mitigate climate change. The event is a culmination of year-round skill-based volunteering that the organisation encourages its people to undertake.
“Through the past two years, our efforts revolved around enabling access to education to those from underserved communities, even if access to classrooms was restricted. Digital access and virtual learning marched forward tremendously,” said NC Hegde, National Leader, People and Culture, Deloitte India. “With hybrid emerging as the preferred choice for work and beyond, people are eager to build on these achievements but collaborate in person again too, thereby leveraging the best of both worlds,” he added. “Renewed possibilities of in-person volunteering have also made possible projects like a lake rejuvenation drive – focused on sustainability.”
The initiative involved working with NGOs spread across 300+ locations for learning initiatives, STEM models for schools, developing stories, podcasts, and audiobooks, environmental awareness sessions, and natural heritage restoration projects (Refer to the annexure for glimpses). It has positively impacted more than 3,00,000 beneficiaries across seven states in India.
The relevance of sustained volunteering initiatives like Impact Day is brought out by Deloitte’s 2022 Millennial and Gen Z Survey. Like in previous years, the survey continued to highlight the evolving attitudes of younger generations, who form the bulk of Deloitte in India’s workforce, as well as an increasing proportion of it in other organisations. Education, skills, and training; and climate change/protecting the environment are the two biggest concerns of GenZs in India. Twenty-six percent of Indian Gen Zs and 31 percent of Millennials already volunteer for an NGO, in addition to their primary jobs. Indian corporates are uniquely placed, because a much higher proportion (compared to the global average) of these generations believe that businesses have a very/fairly positive impact on society.
“Purpose is a cornerstone of our DNA. Impact Day is an opportunity for our professionals to live their purpose through their actions by volunteering and helping drive positive change in our communities. This year, our professionals are participating in both in-person and virtual volunteering activities. Through all these efforts, our focus remains on making an impact that truly matters – today and every day,” said Kent Francois, Principal, Deloitte LLP.
Impact Day, along with other year-round volunteering opportunities, forms a key implementation pathway for WorldClass and WorldClimate, Deloitte Global initiatives. Through WorldClass, Deloitte has a goal of impacting 100 million futures by 2030, of which India is targeting 50 million individuals with a focus on women and girls. Apart from volunteering, WorldClass projects benefit from pro-bono support and financial grants from Deloitte. WorldClimate is Deloitte’s strategy to drive responsible climate choices within our organisation and beyond.
