3M volunteers around the world step up to serve communities during COVID-19 crisis
25 August 2020: 3M improves lives and builds sustainable communities through social investments and thoughtful engagement of 3Mers worldwide. 3M-ers across the globe are showing that community involvement doesn’t stop in times of crisis like COVID-19. Instead, they’re masking up and taking proper precautions to continue making a positive difference where it’s needed most.
The Environmental, Health, Safety & Product Stewardship and Sustainability groups, along with family members, safely conducted a garbage clean-up of Battle Creek Regional Park, located about five minutes south of 3M global headquarters. Prior to the event, the volunteers worked with local parks and public health departments to create a detailed work plan, training session and COVID-19 safety protocols. Over 40 volunteers participated, totaling over 80 volunteer hours and picking up over 23 full garbage bags.
Community members mobilized, including Rachelle McCord, CSD global market intelligence manager. Rachelle joined a group of around 100 volunteers in the Midway area of Saint Paul to receive, organize and distribute donations. The demand was high, but the supply of donations was even higher across the world.
Similarly, Josi Cruz, sales service specialist for Marketing Services & Customer Operations, spends her free time teaching LIBRAS, or Brazilian sign language, via Microsoft Teams to 16 students who are in a professional development program for low-income youth.
And, Susan McGloin, regional clinical specialist, was very aware of the isolation older members of her community were experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her children’s Gaelic Athletic Association club launched a fundraising event to enable the purchase of tablets.
In July, 3M’s Latino Resource Network (LRN) partnered with Common Hope for the single largest translation event in the nonprofit’s history – 500 letters translated from Spanish to English in just one week. More than 340 3Mers and their families from all over Latin America and the United States volunteered to help.
