在尼尔森，我们致力于回馈我们生活和开展业务的社区。为了增强员工回馈社区的能力，我们每年为每位尼尔森员工提供24小时的志愿服务时间。他们可以全年自由支配这些时间，参加对他们有意义的集体活动或个人志愿服务。
Last year, Jake Comito, a Commercial Emerging Leader Associate (ELA) at Nielsen, was determined to find a way to help Houston after it was struck by Hurricane Harvey. While he could have simply made a donation and moved on, Jake knew that using his dedicated volunteering time would be a better way to make a meaningful impact. Working quickly, Jake forged a relationship between Nielsen Cares, our global volunteer program, and All Hands & Hearts – Smart Response (AHAH), a volunteer-driven disaster relief organization. He then successfully recruited 16 ELAs to travel to Houston, sleep in bunks and help the recovery efforts, dividing the group into two in order to spend back-to-back weeks providing aid.
With the positive feedback from that first trip, we decided to forge a year-long collaboration with AHAH to support additional group volunteer trips, as well as individual volunteering. One year after Houston, Jake and 19 other Nielsen associates volunteered again, this time in Puerto Rico, which was severely struck by Hurricane Maria in September 2017. From Nov. 12-16, 2018, the group traveled to Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, for a week of repairing homes, roofing and sanitizing.
During the week, the group together logged 800 volunteer hours and worked on at least five houses and a school affected by the hurricane, completing or contributing to a range of projects that included mold sanitation, critical roof repair and cementing. AHAH also gave the volunteers the opportunity to integrate themselves into the community, allowing them to better understand the impact they had on both the individual homeowners and the community at large.
除了花了一周的时间志愿修复飓风造成的损坏，我们的同事还为波多黎各的恢复工作为 AHAH 筹集了资金。
志愿者之一法图-索乌（Fatou Sow）说，她 "被来自世界各地的其他志愿者的无私奉献精神所鼓舞"。杰克也认为今年的经历 "非常宝贵"，让志愿者们有机会帮助一个需要帮助的社区，并在此过程中培养了 "终身技能"。
“When we heard about the experiences of the group that volunteered in Houston and saw the ongoing passion for this organization, extending the relationship with All Hands and Hearts – Smart Response seemed like an incredible way for Nielsen associates to engage with communities impacted by disasters, as well as connect with each other,” said Crystal Barnes, SVP of Global Responsibility & Sustainability at Nielsen. “We’re so excited to plan additional relief trips in 2019 and continue to build this relationship.”
Photo credit: Alicia Kidd Photography
