UnitedHealth Group Employees

Six years ago UnitedHealth Group joined the VolunteerMatch network as an employee volunteer partner. This past June, the company logged its 1 millionth volunteer hour, achieving a milestone that cements the company as a great example for any business that is committed to integrated and impactful employee engagement.

The impact of employee volunteering is gaining strength every year. In 2007, UnitedHealth Group employees logged an average of less than 100 volunteer hours a day through VolunteerMatch. By 2011 the average hours logged skyrocketed to more than 1,000 volunteer hours per day. That's more than a 1,000 percent increase! With their latest milestone, UnitedHealth Group has contributed a total of over $20 million in social value over the past five years through volunteering alone.

"The commitment of UnitedHealth Group to making a difference truly stands out," said Greg Price, Chief Services Officer here at VolunteerMatch. "Reaching this milestone is a great example of what can be accomplished when good people and good causes connect. Hats off to everyone at UnitedHealth Group for showing what generosity looks like."

Volunteering has become a standard component of UnitedHealth Group conferences and forums, and all volunteer initiatives have C-level support. In fact, 97% of the company's executive team volunteers, and 44% of them serve on nonprofit boards. 79% of all employees volunteered in their communities in 2011, and 57% of them volunteered through the company.

Increasingly, UnitedHealth Group employees are aligning their volunteer activities with the company's mission-based emphasis on helping people live healthier lives through chronic disease prevention and care. Last year, nearly one-third of hours tracked were in the chronic disease and health focus areas.

Among the company's national partners are: Project Sunshine (arts and crafts projects for children and families using hospital services within pediatric hospital network); the YMCA (diabetes prevention and healthy family programs); and YSA – formerly known as Youth Service America – for the UnitedHealth HEROES program addressing childhood obesity.

Additionally, nearly 5,000 employees walked and fundraised for walks and relay races in 2011 supporting organizations like American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and the Alzheimer's Association.

At VolunteerMatch, we consider UnitedHealth Group to be a great model for other network partners. We've recognized them in the Corporate Volunteer Awards for two years straight now, as a finalist for the Employee Volunteer Program award. In 2010 they also received the Champion of the Year award.

We've been proud to partner with UnitedHealth Group in other ways, as well: In 2010 we released the UnitedHealthcare/VolunteerMatch Do Good Live Well Survey, which identifies the key health benefits of volunteering. The company was also a guest speaker on the January 2012 Best Practice Network Webinar, discussing trends in elevating programs for social good.

We'd like to extend a huge "congratulations" to UnitedHealth Group and all its employees for logging 1 million volunteer hours – an achievement to be proud of, for sure. But we're even more excited by a different number: they have already logged over 200,000 hours so far in 2012. It seems UnitedHealth Group employees are not done setting a good example for the rest of us.