Community Volunteers Generously Carry on SC Johnson’s Legacy of Civic Involvement

We are not the only company out there with a social conscience, but we are proud of our long history of community involvement. Our founder, Samuel Curtis Johnson, donated a portion of every paycheck to civic initiatives and was heavily involved in youth programmes. It meant a lot to him on a personal level, and we have tried to carry that spirit through generations of our company.

That said, we don’t have a formal programme at SC Johnson that incentivises volunteerism with paid time off. To us, paying people to volunteer goes against the point of volunteerism: giving generously of yourself to make an impact on your community. If the time off is paid, it is just another day at work. 

Yet even without incentive, SC Johnson people all over the world serve on community boards, volunteer at local service agencies and give their own free time to make their communities better. It is incredibly humbling and makes us immensely proud.

On weekends, evenings and the occasional team-building day, SC Johnson people go out in their communities to help with social, environmental, educational and other efforts. Here are just a few recent examples.

A team from SC Johnson UK recently transformed Frimley Park Hospital’s “Time Garden,” a space near the cancer ward that is regularly used by patients. The team painted benches and updated the garden with new plants. A local plant expert also volunteered his time and expertise to help the SC Johnson team beautify the gardens for patients.

SC Johnson Australia celebrated National Tree Day by participating in the official opening of the newly revitalised Kukundi Nature Play Area in Lane Cove National Park, with Nature Play equipment the company helped fund. As a volunteer activity, SCJ people helped plant more than 600 native seedlings at the park.

Even a little rain didn’t hold back volunteers in Argentina. An SC Johnson team there helped build a transitional home for residents in Pilar, helping to improve the lives of people in their community. SC Johnson has long partnered with TECHO, an organisation working throughout Latin America to provide transitional housing, education and advocacy to those living in extreme poverty.

Continuing a tradition of nearly 30 years, on Earth Day 2017 more than 160 SC Johnson volunteers in our headquarters hometown of Racine, Wisconsin, came out for a cleanup project. At River Bend Nature centre, volunteers cut brush, laid six truckloads of new mulch, planted 400 trees and cleared invasive weeds to improve trails.