Discovery Communications Encourages Volunteerism in Silver Spring

Discover Your Impact Day launched in 2010 as a way for Discovery Communications’ employees to celebrate the humanitarian spirit of founder John Hendricks during Discovery’s 25th anniversary. This day of service encouraged all global employees to step away from their desks and give back to the communities where they live and work. But, the combination of inspired employees alongside a sustainable initiative quickly transformed this day of volunteerism into an annual event.
 
Now engrained in the culture of the company, Discover Your Impact Day marked its third anniversary with the highest global participation numbers ever! More than 3,300 employees participated in over 155 volunteer projects around the world. It’s a day Discovery employees, particularly myself, look forward to every year. The Discovery Impact program means so much to me that just a few months ago I made a sweeping career change in order to manage this program I’ve grown to love. Having been a part of Impact Day in three different roles – volunteer, team leader and now manager of the global project, I can easily see how Impact Day makes a true difference in the communities around the world.
 
What I’ve learned during my combined experiences is that just one day of corporate volunteerism can absolutely make a meaningful impact. During this year’s Impact Day, I visited four of the seven Silver Spring project sites: Brookside Gardens, Brookside Nature Center, the Karasik and Family, Infant & Child Care Center, and A Wider Circle. Between these four sites, 120 Discovery volunteers, including several very pregnant women, spent the day clearing tress, removing invasive species, assembling cribs, painting walls, and moving furniture.  Despite the heat, bugs, and the serious manual labor of these tasks, employees embraced these tasks with a smile.
 
While Impact Day is only one day of service, it is clear employees, local non-profits, and the local community not only care about this event, but also need it. Impact Day provides Discovery’s workforce the chance to connect with local non-profits and experience the simple ways to give back to the community. Likewise, the non-profits reap the benefits by having some serious work done by motivated employees.
 
While visiting the four Silver Spring projects, it was wonderful to see how deeply employees were connecting to the non-profit organizations. The most touching moment was at A Wider Circle, an organization that provides basic need items to disadvantaged families. Discovery volunteers loaded at least 10 U-Haul trucks with furniture and clothing for 10 families in-need. By putting a human face to their service, Discovery volunteers saw the direct impact just a few hours of work made on the lives of others. Because of this experience, several employees plan on returning to A Wider Circle to continuing volunteering. To me, this is the very essence of Impact Day. It’s more than just a day a service; instead Impact Day is the catalyst that inspires employees to continue meaningful and long-lasting work in their communities.