AbbVie employees in Asia participated in its eighth annual Week of Possibilities (WOP) volunteering programme, which unites employees around the world with a single purpose – to give back to local communities through volunteering.
From June 7 to July 7, over 940 employees joined forces with trusted non-profit organisations to take part in hands-on volunteer projects to benefit local communities such as donation drives, environmental clean-ups, or protection, planting trees, caring for the elderly, as well as spending time with disadvantaged or disabled children.
The participating countries and locations included Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, India, Taiwan, and South Korea.
“At AbbVie, our unwavering dedication to the Asian community drives us to actively contribute through volunteerism. We are thrilled to collaborate with our esteemed partners in each country, channelling our collective efforts to create a profound difference in the lives of children, seniors, individuals with disabilities, and the environment,” expressed Peggy Wu, Vice President, Asia, AbbVie.
“During our highly anticipated WOP, an annual volunteer initiative that unites thousands of AbbVie employees worldwide, we seize the opportunity to serve our local communities in Asia with boundless enthusiasm and impact.”
In each WOP location, service projects are selected to ensure that AbbVie volunteer efforts align with the greatest needs of each local community.
AbbVie’s approach to this annual signature employee-engaging voluntary initiative is to have meaningful partnerships with non-profit organisations, striving to be more than just a quick fix for a deeper problem. 1,308 beneficiaries were positively impacted by the various activities conducted throughout the week across Asia.
To provide aid to children and the elderly, we collaborated with local organisations from seven locations in India, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Hong Kong.
Over 900 children and elderly benefited from the learning opportunities as well as the interactive activities that were organised by our partners and volunteers.
Providing aid for children, employees from India, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines organised activities such as a donation drive to provide underprivileged children with school supplies and toys, workshops with the children and their families, preparing food for the children, and spending time with children who suffer from autism and special needs.
They also engaged in activities like painting of schools and conducting experiential learning workshops. In helping the elderly, the Singapore, Taiwan and Indian employees engaged in activities to improve the well-being of the elderly by spending time with them and conducting self-care awareness sessions for them.
“We are grateful to the employees of AbbVie for taking time to visit our province and spend your time with the kids,” expressed Gina Torres of Santo Nino Biaan Elementary School, Philippines.
In line with the global ESG practices, five locations from South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and the Philippines, participated in environmental activities.
These included planting and harvesting vegetables for orphanages, coastal clean-ups, waterways clean-up, tree planting, and improving space ventilation to improve the air in rehabilitation centres for the disadvantaged.
Over 500 employees from these sites were involved in carrying out these environmental protection activities.
“As an “urban kid”, I initially perceived harvesting as a simple task, however, I quickly realised that it required patience. I was delighted to contribute a little effort so that the children could eat fresh and delicious vegetables,” said Wang Yi-Chuan from the Taiwan team at AbbVie.
AbbVie’s Week of Possibilities started in 2014 and is now a global tradition for the company. It is funded in part by the AbbVie Foundation and focuses on service projects in the local communities in which AbbVie employees live and work around the world.
