At&T; Gives Community-Service Movement A Boost Every At&T; Employee Will Get A Day Off With Pay To Perform Volunteer Work

AT&T Corp. has decided to give all 127,000 of its employees a paid day off for volunteer work over the next year, the largest and most public corporate commitment so far to the growing community-service movement.

Officials of volunteer organizations say many companies give workers paid time off for public service on an informal, case-by-case basis, but that AT&T is the largest corporation by far to commit itself publicly to paid volunteer leave for everyone.

AT&T executives said employees will need only to clear the day they choose with their supervisors. They will not be required to submit any form or proof of their volunteer work.

A company spokesman said he expected the program would total 1 million hours of volunteer time worth $20 million and would be renewed if there was an enthusiastic response.

The program will be launched Thursday, when several thousand AT&T employees in 16 states and the District of Columbia are expected to assist at child- and elder-care programs, repair housing projects and serve hot meals to the homeless.

The plan was applauded by volunteer organizations. “I am not aware of any company that has made that a part of a public policy that they want to share with the world,” said Barbara Lohman, spokeswoman for the Points of Light Foundation in Washington. “I think it is a great idea.”

“It’s fantastic,” said Arthur M. Smith, director of communications for Volunteers of America, based in Alexandria, Va. “When you have one of the premier American companies making such a tremendous commitment, it will lead others to follow.”

A survey by Gallup and Independent Sector, a Washington-based association of non-profit organizations, estimates that 93 million Americans did some form of volunteer work in 1995, rebounding from a slump of 89 million in 1993, which was down from 94 million in 1991.

Experts on volunteerism said that corporate sponsorship of community service has taken many forms, growing out of research showing that it both improves employee morale and adds to profits.

Xerox Corp. grants paid social leaves, which can be as long as 12 months, to as many as 20 employees a year to undertake community projects.

Executives of Gap Inc. in San Francisco devote five hours a month to volunteer projects.

Timothy McClimon, executive director of the AT&T Foundation, said employee surveys revealed rising frustration with the lack of time for such work.

Company executives decided a month ago that a volunteer leave day might ease that strain and fortify company ties with the localities it serves.