On Thursday, June 21, over 24,000 Nielsen associates from 91 countries volunteered across more than 1,450 events to participate in our seventh annual Nielsen Global Impact Day (NGID). NGID is our annual day of service when we encourage our colleagues around the world to donate their time, skills, and expertise to benefit their communities.

“All Nielsen associates have 24 hours of dedicated volunteer time annually, and Nielsen Global Impact Day is one of many ways  they can volunteer. NGID compliments the individual actions of our associates throughout the year and is a fantastic way for us to get involved and engage in our communities as a collective Nielsen family,” said Crystal Barnes, senior vice president of Global Responsibility and Sustainability at Nielsen.

NGID volunteer events happen through coordination by local leaders around the world who raise their hands to work with local nonprofit organizations and create activities that enable and empower their fellow associates to make a difference.

Bolivar Verbel, one of this year’s global NGID7 co-leaders based in Poland and Lead Business Process Improvement Partner, reflected, “The experience of co-leading NGID globally this year and the opportunity to use my professional skills to help our communities are simply priceless. NGID shows us how volunteering is embedded in our Nielsen way. Seeing the mobilization of thousands of associates, creativity and coordination in each country, commitment of managers, and events all over the world is just exciting!”

“NGID means energy, positivity, hope, and dreams,” said María Inés Sánchez, NGID7 global co-leader in Argentina and Operations Execution Project Leader. “Being able to dedicate part of my work day to such a noble cause makes me very happy. It enriches me as a person, it allows me to meet Nielsen associates with a huge heart and gives me hope that the world can be better every day.”

This commitment to volunteering is shared across Nielsen at all levels. A snapshot of our colleagues in action this year include:

• Eight members of Nielsen’s global Executive Committee volunteered together at Habitat for Humanity of Coastal Fairfield County in Connecticut, working on tasks to help build an affordable home for a local family.
• When a deadly volcano struck Guatemala in early June, the Nielsen Cares teams in Central America immediately shifted their NGID planning efforts to raise funds, food and personal care items to deliver to the Guatemalan community in need.
• Across the U.S., more than 1,600 Field Operations team members—who are spread out across the country recruiting homes for Nielsen’s panelists—connected with each other for 75+ events and 6,600 collective volunteer hours.

NGID hours will count toward Nielsen’s five-year 300,000-hour volunteer goal. Beyond NGID, the Nielsen Cares volunteer program mobilizes our data, expertise, and associates throughout the year to positively impact the communities where live and work around the world. These efforts include a $10 million commitment each year to pro bono, in-kind, and skills-based volunteering projects.

For more information on our Nielsen Cares program, progress on our 5-year goals, and other ways that Nielsen gives back, check out the Our World section of the new Nielsen Global Responsibility Report.