Volunteerism involves a person or a group of people participating in projects that are beneficial to the community’s wellbeing. Volunteerism is the spirit behind GSK’s Orange Day, when employees get one paid day off to volunteer at a non-profit organization of their choice.
On November 23, 400 employees of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Philippines visited 16 Gawad Kalinga sites and two Smile Train partner institutions in the country, including Antipolo in Rizal, Sagay in Negros Occidental, Naga in Camarines Sur, Quezon Province, Laguna, Pasig-San Rose, Muntinlupa, Pasig, Sta. Mesa, Bataan, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Caloocan, Davao, Gen. Santos, La Union and Las Pinas.
“We encourage our employees in GSK to volunteer and contribute to our local communities. It helps our employees gain new experiences and skills, creating a deeper understanding of patient needs. Employees come back with a different view and serve as change agents in GSK,” said Sriram Jambunathan, General Manager for GSK Philippines Pharmaceuticals.
All GSK employees are entitled to employee volunteering, which means they can take one paid day off per year to pursue an authorized charity activity. Although there are multiple ways of volunteering at GSK, Orange Day is a key flagship program launched in 2009.
The company believes that by volunteering, employees are challenged to think differently, develop leadership skills, and heighten cultural agility. Further, GSK believes that they can also be instruments in helping create positive, sustainable change for non-profit partners, and the communities they serve; and that through their experiences, they bring fresh ideas and new energy back to the company.
“One day of volunteering can have impact on the health and well-being of local communities where we operate. As well as this, volunteering is also a great way to demonstrate and live our values outside of the organization,” said Ritesh Pandey, General Manager for GSK Philippines Consumer Healthcare.
GSK Values are Patient Focus, Integrity, Respect for People, Transparency.
“We believe that we can do good and do good business at the same time, embedding ‘responsible business’ in the core of our operations, the patients at the heart of everything we do. GSK will not be GSK without Orange Day,” said Sarabjit Paul, Site Director for GSK Manufacturing Plant in Philippines.
As GSK medical representative Maan Bacila puts it, Orange Day serves as reminder of how blessed employees are to be part of the company, “We are given a chance to share our blessings of love and abundance by inspiring people to do more, feel better, thus live longer, through improving and working on our current situations, no matter, how hard or challenging it may be.”
Leah Inigo, also a GSK medical representative, shared, “From the bottom of my heart, I felt fulfilment because as we are all focusing to deliver business performance this 2018, we pause for a while to share our blessings with others, not only material things but also our precious time, and warm hugs, and contagious smiles.”
This year, GSK commemorates its 50th year in the Philippines, committing to continue helping Filipinos do more, feel better, live longer.