Genentech Gives Back Week 2010

From June 14 to June 18, 2010, Genentech employees are participating in Genentech Gives Back Week.

The week offers voluntary activities each day that help Genentech employees collectively make a difference in our communities. All employees are invited to participate in Genentech Gives Back as their time and interest allows. Monday through Friday's activities include a Share Your Meal program, Auction and Nonprofit Expo, Bay to Beakers Children's Walk, an all-day donation drive, and a volunteer day.

"Giving back has long been important to Genentech. As an organization and as individual employees, we have been committed to using our resources, both financial and human, to contribute to the best interest of patients, the medical profession and the communities in which we work.

— Ian T. Clark, Chief Executive Officer, Head of North American Commercial Operations

2010 Gives Back Week Activities

• Monday, June 14, 2010: Share Your Meal Day

  Starting on Monday, June 14, Genentech employees are helping to fight hunger all week long by making donations at Genentech campus cafeterias or snack shops to support local food banks. Employees simply buy their meal, snack or other items, then ask the cashier to add a dollar amount ($1, $5, $10, or $20) to go to local organizations fighting hunger in our communities. The money will be collected at the end of the week and donated to the organizations as indicated below.

  At our South San Francisco, CA, location, donations go to the San Francisco Food Bank, which partners with over 400 community organizations in San Francisco and Marin counties in California to provide food through senior and daycare centers, schools, soup kitchens and other organizations.

  At our Hillsboro, OR, location, donations go to the Oregon Food Bank, the hub of a network of 935 hunger-relief agencies throughout Oregon and Clark County, Washington.

  At our Oceanside, CA, location, donations go to Brother Benno, a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization that has been committed to serving the poor and homeless in San Diego North County in California since 1983.

  At our Vacaville, CA, location, donations go to the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano Counties, which has been serving the communities of Contra Costa and Solano counties in California for 34 years, providing food to more than 130,000 hungry people in need every month directly at community sites and through a network of 175 charitable agencies.

• Tuesday, June 15, 2010: Auction and Nonprofit Expo

  On Tuesday, June 15, 2010, Genentech locations are hosting Auction and Nonprofit Expos, where employees will have an opportunity to meet representatives from a wide variety of local nonprofits and to help raise money for these organizations. At the Expos, employees can also bid on auction items and have the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets to be entered to win prizes.

  A hundred percent of the proceeds raised at the event will benefit the organizations participating in the Expos (below):

  American Red Cross Bay Area
  At the Crossroads
  Community Gatepath
  Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse (CORA)
  Family House
  GENE Academy (GENE Academy is a Genentech-run tutoring program that provides homework help and social support to elementary school children from the South San Francisco Unified School District.)
  HopeLab
  Juma Ventures
  Mercy Corps
  Okizu
  Operation Access
  On Lok Senior Health Services
  

  Pacifica Beach Coalition
  Peninsula Bridge
  Pets Are Wonderful Support
  Resource Area for Teachers (RAFT)
  San Francisco SPCA
  Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties
  Shanti
  Shelter Network
  Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition
  Spark
  St. Vincent de Paul Society, San Francisco
  The Wellness Community
  We Teach Science
  WOMAN, Inc.
  Youth and Family Enrichment Services

  There were 26 nonprofits in attendance at the Auction and Nonprofit Expo in South San Francisco, and feedback from them about the experience was positive. Nonprofits had self-described "high traffic" at their tables and said they engaged in meaningful conversations with Genentech employees. Laura Gretch, Community Development Specialist at the San Francisco SPCA, said, "We'll come back and do this again, anytime!"

• Wednesday, June 16, 2010: Bay to Beakers Children's Walk

  On Wednesday, June 16, 2010, Genentech will be hosting the Bay to Beakers Children's Walk. Genentech will donate $20 on behalf of every walker (up to $100,000) to two important children's causes: Roche's efforts to support children orphaned as a result of AIDS in Malawi and the Genentech Foundation's efforts to support children with cancer and their families across the United States who struggle to meet basic needs like food, rent and utilities.

  On Wednesday, employees walk Genentech's campuses with their colleagues not only to benefit important children's causes, but also to have some good old-fashioned Genentech fun. Dressing up in costume has long been a Genentech tradition, and Bay to Beakers gives employees one more excuse to demonstrate their creativity. Prizes are given for the best costumes.

• Thursday, June 17, 2010: Donation Drives

  On Thursday, June 17, 2010, Genentech employees will have the opportunity to help nonprofits locally and around the country to assist people in need by donating a wide variety of items, such as nonperishable food, clothing, books, cleaning supplies, retired cell phones, clothing, old sunglasses, toiletries and shoes. Employees can donate items at several locations around campuses, including walk-in locations and drive-by locations for people donating large or multiple items. Employees may also consider donating by giving blood.

  Employees can make a donation on Thursday to participating organizations: Support Network for Battered Women, St. Jude's Ranch for Children, InnVision, My New Red Shoes, Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, Shelter Network of San Mateo County, Lions Club International, Society of Saint Vincent de Paul of San Mateo County, Wardrobe for Opportunity, Children's Book Project, Friends of the San Francisco Library, Family House, Blood Centers of the Pacific and Pets Are Wonderful Support (PAWS).

• Friday, June 18, 2010: Volunteer Day

  Friday, June 18, 2010, is Genentech Gives Back Volunteer Day. Throughout the day, there are opportunities for more than 1,700 Genentech employees from across the company to give back to our communities.

  From participating in natural habitat restorations to helping out at senior centers, to feeding the homeless at a local shelter or helping out an animal shelter or food bank, there are both on-campus and off-campus opportunities for employees to help make a difference in their communities.

  At an onsite volunteer project in South San Francisco, 300 employees packed more than 3,000 boxes with items like cereal, rice, beans and canned fruit/vegetables for Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. Employees' work will have a big impact on hunger in the Bay Area: the 105,000 pounds of food packed will provide more than 80,700 meals for local families.

  Said Kathy Jackson, Chief Executive Officer of Second Harvest Food Bank, "Thank you for letting us bring this food drive to you. These boxes are going to be given out at pantries, where families can turn when they have nowhere else to go. Families will have a wonderful array of food, thanks to Genentech."