We empower our associates to give back and make a meaningful difference — locally and globally. Through our innovative, global Volunteer Service Trips, we invite associates to take paid time away from work to tackle some of the world's most pressing global health issues, one developing community at a time. At BD sites around the world, we also encourage our associates to join together to support local organizations that improve the health and well-being of the most vulnerable in their communities. We also match associate donations to non-profit organizations and offer mini-grants to organizations where our associates volunteer their time and talents.
All BD associates are invited to apply to participate in the life-changing experience of BD Volunteer Service Trips. This transformative program allows BD associates to take several weeks away from work to participate in BD-sponsored service trips that seek to strengthen health systems in developing and emerging countries. BD strategically partners with non-profit organizations and NGOs to implement the program, empowering associates to share their expertise and passions to help improve the overall quality of life for vulnerable populations. To date, more than 175 BD associates from 26 countries have been deployed to sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, Southeast Asia, El Salvador, Haiti, Mexico, Peru and Papua New Guinea.
From 2007-2020, BD created an innovative public-private partnership with the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to improve overall laboratory systems and services in African countries that had been severely affected by HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB). Working with PEPFAR, CDC, Ministries of Health and other in-country partners on specific laboratory strengthening projects, BD associates have provided training for more than 500 healthcare workers in Ethiopia, South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda and India through the PEPFAR Labs for Life program. The program improved local capacity to improve laboratory management, maintain and calibrate laboratory equipment, and safely and effectively test for TB and HIV. Today BD’s team is building on the learnings from this program to apply to lab strengthening initiatives for Cervical Cancer and AMR.
In key regions where BD employs a large number of associates, we leverage volunteerism and philanthropic giving to further strengthen connectedness and community. For example, in 2017, BD associates across the United States marked the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day of Service by joining together at BD sites in California, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, Oklahoma and Texas to package more than 100,000 meals for Stop Hunger Now programs. Hundreds of BD associates at multiple sites in San Diego have raised more than $790,000 since 2013 through Padres Pedal the Cause – a team cycling event that raises funds for cancer research. And at five sites throughout the United States, BD raised more than $33,000 for the American Diabetes Association in just one year, through their participation in the Tour de Cure and Step Out Walk.
At hundreds of BD locations around the world, BD associates join together to support local causes and organizations that improve the health and well-being of their communities. Whether it’s joining together to sort food at local pantries, planting trees in community parks, or improving the lives of at-risk youth by volunteering at local youth centers, BD associates initiate hundreds of local acts of kindness, volunteerism and generosity in their communities, every day.
We’re committed to amplifying the impact of associate donations and volunteerism. Through our Employee Match program, BD matches 100% of the donations each associate makes to non-profit organizations of their choice, up to $5,000 per associate, per calendar year. BD will also make a $500 donation to any non-profit organization to which a BD associate volunteers 40 hours of community service. And through the Henry P. Becton Volunteer Impact Program, BD recognizes associates and retirees for excellence and creativity in community service, by making grants to the non-profit organizations they support, in honor of their service.