CSR
Corporate Social Responsibility at Intel®
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Bite-Sized CSR: 1501 Pairs of Shorts

Linda_Qian
Employee
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Bitesized_smallThis is the fourth post in our "Bite-sized CSR" blog series surrounding our 2010 Corporate Responsibility Report, where we'll pull out little snippets and case studies from across the 100+ pages of our new report.

Last Friday I spent my afternoon volunteering in a school gymnasium. Children from Title 1 schools (large percentage of kids from low income families), as well as non-profit organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club, were bussed in from around Phoenix and equipped with backpacks, books, shoes, and clothes for the coming school year.

I was in charge of keeping track of the shorts that were given out, and today alone, the Back-to-School Clothing Drive Association paired about 750 kids with 1501 pairs of shorts, or skorts for girls. If you don't know what a skort is, ladies, you are seriously missing out - these short/skirt hybrids are not only fashionable (in elementary school terms, that is), but they also prevent anyone from seeing your underwear - a common fashion faux-pas.

Along with other folks from businesses like Wells Fargo, Westcor and Bank of America, Intel volunteers were able to help about 5900 kids. It is amazing to know that you work for a company that will let you volunteer during your regular work hours, and has been a great way for me to meet new people in the company. In addition, the Intel Foundation will donate $10 for every hour one of its employees volunteers at a qualified organization of their choice. This Intel Involved Matching Grant Program allows employees to contribute even more to their favorite organizations - in 2010 we secured more than $7 million worldwide.

Each year, Intel employees give back through volunteer projects like the Intel Education Service Corps, to rebuilding schools (watch this video of our efforts to help rebuild Merritt Trace Elementary near our Santa Clara campus after it was destroyed by arson), to skills-based volunteering from our legal team. So even though it's hard to quantify the benefit of so many pairs of shorts, I know it's definitely worth it, and I plan to keep on volunteering.

For more information about our community engagement and volunteer programs, see page 100 of our 2010 Corporate Responsibility Report.
About the Author
Linda is passionate about sustainability and corporate responsibility. She manages communications for Intel's Public Affairs and Sustainability organization. She graduated from the UC Berkeley College of Natural Resources with a Bachelor of Science in Conservation and Resource Studies.