Fifty Fearless UPS Females Help Build Stronger Toronto Community

Mississagua, April 29, 2009

UPS employees join Habitat for Humanity Toronto for inaugural Women Build
Many hands make light work. For UPS, pitching in to help for a good cause is a year-round initiative. This spring, Habitat for Humanity Toronto will receive $50,000 in sponsorship and 50 pairs of helping hands from UPS Canada at its first annual Women Build, benefiting the Manse Road and Lawrence Avenue area in Toronto. Fifty female management employees from UPS locations around the Greater Toronto Area will participate in the build on May 4, 6 and 7.

“We’re extremely proud and delighted to be able to devote our time, energy and determination to helping those in need through Habitat for Humanity,” said Shelley Gares, Vice President of Brokerage and chair of Women’s Leadership Development (WLD) program. “The women at UPS are a force to be reckoned with, what better way to harness that energy than putting it toward a great cause in our community?”

The 50 female UPS employees are members of its Women’s Leadership Development (WLD) program.  The goal of WLD is to create a network of women who can share in one another’s development and establish outside relationships with the business community while all along developing themselves.  WLD provides a supportive environment that encourages and enables the attraction, development, and retention of female managers through networking, mentoring, education, and community-based involvement.

Habitat for Humanity Toronto’s inaugural Women Build will be Canada’s largest build with over 1,500 volunteers, donors and supporters building over the course of nine days on 16 homes. The project is part of a one-time 60-home development of affordable and market value homes created by WRP Neighbourhood Housing (www.wrphousing.org).

“Women Build is about building homes, while promoting women as leaders in the community and providing an opportunity for women to learn new construction and building skills-- without excluding men,” said Neil Hetherington, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Toronto. “The event is about spirit, empowerment, solidarity, fun, learning, and a whole lot of pride in working with a family as they help build their new Habitat home.”

Volunteering at UPS is a serious commitment. In 2008, UPS Canada employees donated more than 10,000 hours to nearly 200 charitable organizations across Canada. Some gave their time to assist in construction projects, while others volunteered at neighbourhood food banks and soup kitchens. While several organizations received significant monetary donations from UPS through the company’s community grant programs, employees are well-known for providing hands-on assistance to help better the communities where they live and work. 

UPS has traditionally provided employees volunteer opportunities through its annual Global Volunteer Month each October, an extension of the company’s long-standing commitment to volunteerism.  During Global Volunteer Month alone, 1,047 UPS Canada employees and their family members volunteered over 5,800 hours at over 140 different charities. Last year, UPS employees, in more than 200 countries, volunteered more than 1.2 million hours.

Since its founding in 1907, UPS has built a legacy as a caring and responsible corporate citizen.  Whether through it’s involvement with United Way, The UPS Foundation or volunteerism, UPS provides assistance to programs that address social and community issues through skilled volunteerism that promotes sustainable programs that address diversity, non-profit effectiveness, the environment, community safety, economic and global literacy.