MetLife Asia Employees Contribute More Than 6,000 Volunteer Hours Towards Community Initiatives in October

HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MetLife, one of the world’s leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management, held its second annual Asia Corporate Social Responsibility Month in October.

The month coincided with MetLife’s annual global “Volunteering with Purpose – 90 Days of Giving”, a three-month global campaign which encourages employees to participate in a range of volunteer initiatives supporting environmental and community causes around the world, such as constructing prosthetic hands for amputee landmine victims throughout the developing world as part of the Build-a-Hand™ program and assembling athletic kits for the Special Olympics Young Athletes program.

Employees in MetLife’s nine Asian markets contributed more than 6,000 volunteer hours towards these initiatives in addition to local environmental and community programs. For example:

• Employees in Japan participated in street clean-ups and attended educational seminars with community partners like Nippon Foundation to learn more about social and environmental issues impacting communities across Japan. Volunteers also made chopsticks from upcycled timber mill offcuts to donate to local aged-care facilities.
• In China, employees assembled 600 athletic kits and recorded motivational messages for Special Olympics Young Athletes. They also constructed 300 prosthetic hands for the Build-a-Hand™ program.
• PNB MetLife in India kicked off two of its major annual CSR programs in October: One as part of its “Damini” (inner light) initiative to build awareness on menstrual health and hygiene for 4000+ adolescent girls; and “Glow Green,” a pledge to plant 30,000 trees over the next three years.

Close to 1,000 Asia employees also participated in MetLife’s annual global EcoChallenge: a two-week program to take tangible daily actions to reduce OUR environmental footprint. Participants saved 4,795 disposable bags, 4,125 disposable cups, and 6,551 plastic bottles from landfill.

“Caring for the environment and helping our local communities build a more confident future have always been integral to our culture at MetLife – it is just one of the ways we live our purpose,’ said MetLife Asia Regional President, Kishore Ponnavolu.

While October is a dedicated CSR month for MetLife Asia, employees across the Region engage in volunteering and CSR activities throughout the year. In 2020 alone, more than 12,000 MetLife employees across Asia contributed 28,315 hours towards volunteer efforts in the region.

About MetLife
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates ("MetLife"), is one of the world's leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help its individual and institutional customers navigate their changing world. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 markets and holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit: www.metlife.com