UPS: $6-Million for Volunteerism

The UPS Foundation, the grant-making arm of the United Parcel Service of America, has announced plans to spend nearly $6-million over the next four years to help five national charities beef up their volunteer programs.

The money will be divided among the National Park Foundation, City Cares of America, the Salvation Army, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, and Junior Achievement. The charities, which will each receive a yet-to-be-determined portion of the money, will spend the award in different ways to improve the recruitment, retention, and training of volunteers, and to develop ways to use volunteers’ time more effectively.

The foundation’s grant marks the second phase of a program it created in 1998, called the Volunteer Impact Initiative.

Over the last two years, the foundation has contributed $400,000 to each of five organizations, including second-time recipients, Big Brothers Big Sisters and Junior Achievement, which both had started programs to retain volunteers.

Now, Big Brothers Big Sisters plans to expand its campaign to get more black men to serve as mentors to children. And Junior Achievement plans to develop a college-credit workshop to train teachers to recruit volunteers for the Junior Achievement programs run in their classrooms.