Volunteers are a crucial resource for our country’s vitality. Employee volunteer programs benefit not only staff members and their companies in increased morale and retention, but they also tackle issues in our own backyards and lead to healthier communities.

Texas Health is among companies that have had to pause employee programs for in-person volunteering due to COVID-19. But we adapted the Community Time Off (CTO) program so that our employees still can help virtually while remaining safe in their homes. That meant developing an online virtual volunteering platform to connect employees to multiple nonprofit organizations across North Texas offering virtual community service opportunities.

This innovative approach has resulted in more than 200 hours of virtual community service by Texas Health employees since June; helping with projects such as creating handmade notes of encouragement for isolated seniors and submitting virtual storytelling videos for children in need.

More than 100 of those logged hours came on a single day last month – Sept. 11 – when Texas Health joined forces with the Communities Foundation of Texas for its 19th annual Freedom Day, supporting organizations such as VNA Meals on Wheels, the American Heart Association, The Senior Source and the North Texas Food Bank. The day of community service honors the lives lost or forever changed by the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001.

We’ll continue to offer virtual volunteer opportunities this holiday season, when nonprofits are traditionally in desperate need of community support.