Universal City, Calif., May 2, 2007 – GE announced today a record community effort hosted by its Asian-Pacific American Forum (APAF). One of General Electric’s four Affinity Networks, APAF volunteers, contributed close to 900 hours of volunteer time at “APAF CARES – An Evening of Giving,” a collaborative national community service event. The event was held at Universal Studios Hollywood as part of the 8th Annual GE APAF National Meeting.
“APAF CARES is an excellent example of our commitment in helping the communities in which we serve,” said Bob Corcoran, Vice President of Corporate Citizenship at GE Corporation. “In particular, one of the events, a bone marrow match drive, was driven by a local news story of an Asian-American boy suffering from a rare form of leukemia. This effort exemplifies how employee diversity can be a catalyst for significant community outreach efforts across the Company.”
“APAF CARES – An Evening of Giving” successfully completed three community service events. During the course of the one-night only event, hundreds of GE employees representing all six GE business units participated in various events. These events included a bone marrow match drive, built Comfort Kits for the American Red Cross and painted colorful murals at PaintFest® for Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) and Providence St. Joseph Medical Center.
In addition, dozens of bilingual employees registered as volunteer translators for the Asian Pacific Women’s Center, a non-profit organization that focuses on the needs of Asian and Pacific Islander domestic violence survivors – one of the first transitional housing facilities in the United States.
Michael Chen, Corporate Champion for APAF and President & CEO, Media, Communications & Entertainment, GE Commercial Finance added, “Last night, the efforts that APAF volunteers gave to their communities during ‘APAF CARES’ was historic and APAF plans to continue this philanthropic endeavor with future National Meetings.”
As an important part of the Company’s overall corporate citizenship efforts, GE Volunteers and the GE Volunteers Foundation actively work with the employee Affinity Networks -- the GE Women’s Network, African-American Forum, Hispanic Forum, and the Asian-Pacific American Forum.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have partnered up with GE again and to build a relationship with APAF,” said John Feight, Executive Director and Founder of the Foundation for Hospital Art. “GE Volunteers across the world engaged in the first GE Global PaintFest® earlier this year and now APAF has helped to brighten the hallways of CHOC and Providence St. Joseph’s.”
Katharina Harf, Executive Vice President, DKMS Americas said, “APAF’s passion to help find a match for Harrison Leonardo was inspiring. From the first drives APAF held in the Tri-State and Southern California area, to the national push at ‘APAF CARES,’ GE has set a remarkable example for other corporations to join the effort to save lives by helping to recruit bone marrow donors. "
"Teaming with GE and APAF is a natural move for the American Red Cross. We've partnered successfully with other GE events in the past and we were excited to get their support through ‘APAF CARES,’ “ said Paul Schulz, CEO, American Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles.
DKMS Americas, a bone marrow match service, connects those who are fighting leukemia, with those who want to help. Harrison Leonardo, a 2-year-old Asian-American boy (father is Filipino, mother is Caucasian) suffers from Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML), a rare form of leukemia. To learn more, visit: www.dkmsamericas.org and www.helpharrison.com
In cities nationwide, the American Red Cross responds to approximately 400 house fires each year. As one of the first on the scene, “comfort kits” are given to every victim of a fire. Comfort kits consist of basic toiletry items and, for children, a set of crayons and a coloring book are added. To learn more, visit: www.redcross.org
The Foundation for Hospital Art was born as a way for artwork to give comfort and hope to those who suffer in hospitals by providing artwork at no cost to hospitals, clinics and other care facilities around the world. To learn more, visit: www.hospitalart.org
GE’s Affinity Networks, including the Asian-Pacific American Forum (APAF), are committed to attracting, developing and retaining a pipeline of leadership talent, to help lead GE’s global growth. GE's goal has always been to create and sustain an inclusive environment where all employees feel they have the opportunity to succeed and where diversity is embraced as a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. There are 320,000 GE employees worldwide - Of these, over half are based outside the U.S. To learn more about APAF, visit: www.ge.com/apaf
GE Volunteers – made up of GE employees and retirees – improve the communities in which they live and work by donating their time and money in community-based projects. To learn more, visit: www.gevolunteers.com
GE (NYSE: GE) is Imagination at Work -- a diversified technology, media and financial services company focused on solving some of the world’s toughest problems. With products and services ranging from aircraft engines, power generation, water processing and security technology to medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and advanced materials, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.ge.com.
