Planting Seeds

The US is facing some tough challenges these days.  The economy has affected each of us in one way or another, and President Obama has asked every one of us to take part in rebuilding the country by serving our communities.  United We Serve will engage Americans of every stripe to volunteer in our communities in some way from June 22 until September 11.

At GSK, we're fortunate to also have leadership that believes in helping its employees volunteer in our communities.  "Orange Day" is GSK's way of giving back by letting employees take time off from work to volunteer.

Novelist Robert Louis Stevenson had it right when he said: "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant."  No one knows this better than the non-profit organization Stand Up For Kids which serves homeless teens in 64 cities and recently joined with GSK to give at-risk teens in Atlanta more room to grow into healthy adults.

You might recall that Stand Up For Kids benefited from the generosity of nearly 700 GSK field managers during our leadership meeting in Atlanta earlier this year, where we assembled hundreds of health, hygiene and food kits for Stand Up.

We heard from one of Stand Up's graduates, a young man who spoke of what life was like on the streets.  More importantly, he spoke of what his life is like now as a result of the services and acceptance he received from Stand Up volunteers.  His message moved me to act.  I grabbed a plastic bag and asked my colleagues to reach into their wallets - and their hearts - to support Stand Up.  The response was immediate.  More than $8,300 was collected!  We were delighted to have our CEO Andrew Witty with us that day and he said GSK would match the funds, bringing our total to over $16,000!  This is testimony to the quality of leaders and teammates we work with at GSK.

We were told that property had been donated to Stand Up for a new outreach center, but that $75,000 was needed to renovate it.  GSK was ready, and a check for $75,000 was donated to cover the costs.

During a subsequent regional meeting, our team donated more items including food, socks, clothing, and bedding.  The quantity donated was so large that it took several trips with large vans to get all of the items to Stand Up.

Fast forward to June 5, when I had the honor of seeing the results of our combined efforts at the dedication of the new Stand Up For Kids outreach center in Atlanta.  With our donations and funds, and help from others in the community, the center is proof of how wonderful things happen when people share their gifts and talents to accomplish a goal.  The basement of an Atlanta building was transformed into a beautiful and functional center where kids can meet with counselors, attend programs, take showers, do laundry and work to find their purpose in life.

(And interestingly, because of the amount of mildew present in the basement, the renovation ran over the estimated $75,000 by about $15,000, which made our additional donation of $16,000-plus pretty important!)

GSK was honored and recognized as a major contributor at the grand opening.  Rick Koca, the founder of Stand Up For Kids, told me that he thinks GSK now also stands for Giving Street Kids a chance.  Another example of how we reap what we sow--as volunteers, as employees and as a company--in making a difference for people beyond our medicines.