DHL Express Malta, part of Deutsche Post DHL, the world’s leading postal and logistics group,  marked Global Volunteer Day 2013 with a group of six employees taking children from Angela House, Guardamangia, for a full day outing. The initiative was part of DHL’s global drive to give something back to local communities and to inculcate a passion for volunteerism among employees.

“The children enjoyed the activity and wanted to stay on longer, they were having so much fun,” commented Charles Schiavone, Manager of DHL Express Malta.

Similar to last year’s local initiative, when a group of female employees took children from Angela House to visit the Bird Park, this year 12 children, aged 6 to 14, from the home were taken to the Mediterraneo Marine Park, Baħar ic-Cagħaq, on a full-day outing. The day started at 9 a.m. with an interaction with parrots presentation, followed by dolphin, sea lions and reptiles. It was an action-packed, enjoyable day out for the children, with DHL also arranging for transport and giving the kids and the nuns who came with them a meal as well.

“DHL believes that people are its greatest resource and the company continually encourages employees to actively participate in community efforts, such as the work we are doing with Angela House, not just with the children but also at the home, inspired by the spirit of volunteerism,” Mr Schiavone said. “The most important thing for us is to play our part.”

Introduced in Asia Pacific in 2008, Volunteer Day has expanded into the Americas, the Middle East, Africa and Europe over the years, and continues to build on its success by involving more employees than ever before. In 2012, the initiative was rolled out globally with tremendous success – 62,000 volunteers in about 120 countries and territories participated in more than 1,000 community programmes.

“I am proud of the volunteer work that our employees do, because the GoHelp programme is part of the DHL Corporate Responsibility strategy,” Christof Ehrhart, head of Corporate Communications and Responsibility at Deutsche Post DHL, said.

For Global Volunteer Day 2013, Deutsche Post DHL offices around the world participated in many diverse community projects in support of various local causes. These programmes fall under the company’s three Corporate Responsibility initiatives – GoTeach (championing education), GoGreen (protecting the environment) and GoHelp (delivering help).