Case Study: How UPchieve and Verizon volunteers fought learning loss during COVID-19

 

Need addressed

Companies with ambitious volunteering goals, like Verizon, value impactful and flexible volunteer opportunities which are suitable for large numbers of employees.

Solution

UPchieve’s Academic Coach volunteer opportunity empowers thousands of V-Teamers to make a meaningful impact on low-income students’ lives during COVID-19.

 

Busy professionals want to volunteer but need flexible opportunities

  • 77% of workers think corporate volunteer activities are essential for employee well-being

  • 70% say they’re more loyal to companies that empower them to contribute to important issues

Volunteering is a powerful tool for employee recruitment, satisfaction, and retention. However, lack of flexible and rewarding opportunities is a major barrier to volunteering for many professionals.

 

UPchieve empowers employees to make a difference, no matter how busy they are or where they live

UPchieve unlocks the potential of busy, working professionals to increase education equity. Our on-demand platform matches students who need help with volunteers who want to help, all in an average of 5 minutes, and on any device.

 

Results so far

  • 1,059 volunteers signed-up

  • 3,240 tutoring sessions completed

  • 1,442 students supported

  • 97% average volunteer satisfaction rating

“The UPchieve team has been communicative, flexible, easy to work with, and has taken every opportunity to improve the effectiveness of our partnership.”
— Elizabeth Dettke, Verizon Social Impact
 

What volunteers are saying

 
 

How we got here

Here are some strategies we employed to make the partnership successful:

Strategic communications

Many Verizon volunteers found out about UPchieve via company-wide emails and on Verizon’s internal volunteering platform. Verizon’s strong volunteering culture and leadership engagement were crucial levers for making the partnership work.  

Grassroots engagement

We worked closely with Verizon volunteers and internal champions to get feedback and recruit other volunteers within the company. These advocates helped us spread the word through inviting us to speak at all-hands meetings, sharing their experience via email and social media, and connecting us with other employee networks like ERGs.

Interactive Presentations

Our webinars and presentation span from 5 to 45 minutes and can be customized for groups large and small. We leveraged them at Verizon to give volunteers a jump-start on the onboarding process.

 

Want to learn more?

Our Corporate Partnerships harness the potential of virtual volunteering to make a difference in education equity across the U.S. If you’re interested in learning about how remote volunteering can boost employee engagement at your company, check out our webpage or e-mail us at partnerships@upchieve.org!