Community
In addition to addressing chronic disease globally and enhancing science and math education, Medtronic strives to enhance the health and vibrancy of the communities where our employees live and work. We also know that employee engagement fuels productivity and satisfaction. So we blend these objectives by empowering our 40,000 employees to address the unique needs of their local communities through highly accessible programs.
We put the Medtronic Mission in Motion through a global network of Community Councils and Mission in Motion Ambassadors who align CommunityLink giving with employee volunteerism in 17 locations where we have major facilities. Mission in Motion programs focus on hands-on outreach projects, donations, matching gifts, and disaster relief.
Project 6 is a global volunteer program that encourages employees to carry out the sixth tenet of our Mission – “to maintain good citizenship as a company” – in their local communities during the month of June. In fiscal year 2010, the program inspired 1,000 Medtronic employees in 14 countries to participate in 40 employee-led volunteer projects such as meal distribution, clothing drives, and cleaning local parks and beaches.
Our Disaster Relief efforts include providing annual Medtronic Foundation funding to the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, conducting matching gifts programs in response to natural disasters such as the earthquake in Haiti, coordinating product donations for items needed on the ground, and awarding grants for both short-term medical relief and the long-term rebuilding of healthcare infrastructure in affected areas. Medtronic’s Disaster Relief volunteer program allows employees to take up to five days of paid time off to volunteer with a non-profit organization and assist with recovery efforts from designated major disasters. (See Haiti case study below.)
Activating All Resources in Response to Haiti Earthquake
The devastating earthquake in Haiti triggered a quick and broad response at Medtronic, ranging from Medtronic Foundation grants and company product donations to employee giving campaigns and employee volunteerism in the island nation.
Dr. Dayna Wolfe
Dr. Dayna Wolfe (watch video), a senior clinical research associate in Medtronic’s Neuromodulation business, spent nine days working in Port-au-Prince and remote villages across Haiti on missions organized by No Time For Poverty and Partners in Health.
A participant in our Mission in Motion Disaster Relief volunteer program, which allows employees to take up to five days paid leave to assist with disaster recovery efforts, Dr. Wolfe took a frontline position treating patients in local hospitals and makeshift clinics.
In an employee blog written during her stay Wolfe shared, “I feel challenged to the depths of my soul to step up to the adversity of the conditions in Haiti; even a month after the earthquake [there is] still a lot of chaos everywhere. We are practicing medicine in three different languages, trying to care for the desperately ill and injured quake survivors. There are healthcare workers from nine different countries working with us at the CDTI Hospital in Port-au-Prince.”
Upon her return home, Wolfe added, “Today life is about reflecting on the tremendous sense of gratitude that I feel for having had the opportunity to serve the Haitian people…gratitude to have brought the Mission of Medtronic alive in Haiti.”
Dr. Wolfe’s personal contribution is a powerful example of global employee support, which also drove a successful $350,000 matching gift campaign to fund short-term relief efforts in Haiti. With assistance from the Medtronic Foundation, our business units coordinated with organizations working in Haiti to assess needs and donated nearly $900,000 of Medtronic CardioVascular and Spine products for distribution through Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach. In addition, The Medtronic Foundation committed $750,000 in grants to organizations that will contribute to the long-term recovery of Haiti’s medical infrastructure, for a combined relief commitment exceeding $2 million.