A group of Wells Fargo team members in red shirts pose while sitting and standing. Behind them is an inflatable red heart.
Wells Fargo team members in San Francisco participated in the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk.
A group of Wells Fargo team members in red shirts pose while sitting and standing. Behind them is an inflatable red heart.
Wells Fargo team members in San Francisco participated in the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk.
Volunteering & Giving
September 23, 2019

All hands on deck: Wells Fargo’s Dedicated Day of Service

Thousands of Wells Fargo team members participate in the first Dedicated Day of Service, volunteering in their communities across the world.

Thousands of Wells Fargo team members picked up paintbrushes and hammers, sorted and packed food, installed solar panels, and crafted notes of encouragement, among other efforts, in their communities across the world for the company’s first Dedicated Day of Service on Sept. 20. For this historic event, team members were encouraged to come together to make a collective impact by spending part or all of their day volunteering in group events, on-site activities in breakrooms, or right from their desks through virtual volunteer opportunities.

Wells Fargo CEO Allen Parker, center, joined other Wells Fargo team members Sept. 13, 2019, for the San Francisco Heart Walk benefiting the American Heart Association. (0:59)

“We know community-based organizations rely on volunteers to advance their work, so it’s exciting to create a unified effort for all of us to help a cause we care about,” said Brandee McHale, president of the Wells Fargo Foundation. “Wells Fargo team members have a long history of giving, and this Dedicated Day of Service builds on that deep desire to make communities stronger.”

The Dedicated Day of Service was held during Wells Fargo’s Community Support Campaign, which occurs every September and encourages team members to give back — with their time and money — to causes they care about. In 2018, team members pledged $75.3 million and spent more than 2 million hours volunteering with various causes throughout the year and during the Community Support Campaign. As a result, United Way Worldwide recognized Wells Fargo as No. 1 in workplace giving for the 10th consecutive year.

Read more about Wells Fargo’s Dedicated Day of Service

Wells Fargo offers team members up to 16 hours of paid community service time each year. Team members have used the time throughout the year to pack meals for children, sort food donations for people in need, mentor post-9/11 veterans, assist low-income individuals with filing taxes, help children learn to read, and grow food to feed orphans and the elderly, among other things.

In June 2019, Wells Fargo announced that it is evolving its philanthropic strategy to help solve three pressing issues affecting individuals, families, and underserved communities across the U.S.: housing affordability, financial health, and small business growth. Last year, Wells Fargo donated more than $444 million to nearly 11,000 nonprofits across the U.S. to help meet the needs of underserved communities, including many low- and moderate-income individuals.

“Our talented team, working alongside our community partners on this Dedicated Day of Service and throughout the year, is one way we demonstrate our deep-rooted commitment to helping solve some of society’s most pressing problems,” McHale said.

A group of more than 25 team members wearing red shirts pose and smile. Some wear white aprons and hairnets.
A group of five men and women wear red shirts that say “Wells Fargo volunteers” as they wave and smile.
Two images are side by side. One shows a man mopping a floor. One shows two men working on the floor.
A man in a red shirt smiles at the camera while holding a piece of paper on top of a wood surface.
Six team members wearing red shirts with “Wells Fargo volunteers” on them pose in front of a table with food and in front of stacked cardboard boxes.
One man and two women pose with red shirts on. They hold cleaning supplies.
A group of about 10 team members with red shirts that say “Wells Fargo volunteers” walk together.
A large group of people stand on both sides of tables and smile at the camera. On the tables are cardboard and plastic boxes with items inside.
A group of five people wear red shirts with “Wells Fargo Volunteers” on them and stand in front of a building.
More than 20 people sit and stand around the base of a building with mounds of dirt and other houses around them. Most of them wear red shirts.
A group of people stand in front of buildings and smile at the camera while several of them hold a check from Wells Fargo to Rock the Block for $40,000 on Sept. 20, 2019.
A group of men and women in red shirts stand and smile at the camera. Some hold plastic bins with seeds.
Six women wearing “Wells Fargo Volunteers” shirts stand behind a table with red dog toys on it.
A woman takes a photo as she smiles behind a dog.
A man’s side profile is seen while he holds a drill to a wall and hold a sign with the numbers 311 showing.
A group of people in red shirts smile as they stand behind a table with bags and boxes filled with various items for hygiene kits.
A man in a red shirt looks at the camera and smiles as he stands in front of a building and holds a paintbrush to it.
Two men sit on the ground in front of a gate while holding pain rollers.
A group of about 10 men and women stand and smile at the camera. Most wear read shirts that say “Wells Fargo Volunteers.”
Two images are side by side. One shows a group of people in red shirts posing outside of a building with a sign that says “Mooresville Soup Kitchen.” The other shows four people washing dishes.
A group of about a dozen people stand and smile at the camera. They wear shirts that say “Wells Fargo Bénévoles.”
About 40 people in red shirts stand in front of a building with “McAlpine Elementary School” in white letters.
A group of more than 20 people stand in front of a home. They wear red shirts and have an arm raised in the air.
Three women and one man in red shirts stand and smile at the camera.
A group of people wearing red shirts sit on the floor and stand on a staircase. Behind them a wall says “Wells Fargo Zone.”
A group in red shirts stand and smile while waving, giving a thumbs up, or making a peace sign with their hand.
A large group of people in red shirts stand in a parking lot and smile at the camera. Some have their arms raised. Behind them are some buildings and palm trees.
Two women wearing red shirts and jeans stand beside a red and yellow handmade stagecoach that says, “Wells Fargo” on it. They each have a hand on the metal box that says, “Wells Fargo & Co.” on it.
A group of six people wearing red Wells Fargo volunteer shirts and white hard hats stand in front of a building with siding exposed.
A group of people, mostly in red shirts, stand and smile in front of a Habitat for Humanity truck. They hold a large check and a banner with the Wells Fargo Advisors logo.
Three people whose faces aren’t shown sit in front of a check from Wells Fargo to Feeding South Dakota in the amount of $82,640 on Sept. 20, 2019.
Two images side by side show a man standing by a bush and trimming it and another man carrying a bucket in a garden with dirt nearby.
Three women and two men stand behind a table with bread, peanut butter, and jelly on it. Most of them wear red shirts.
A woman stands on a ladder and smiles at the camera. The ladder is in front of the wooden frame of a building.
A woman sits at and writes on flash cards on a table in a photo on the left. Other people are behind her standing and sitting at a table. In a photo on the right, the woman poses in front of a sign that says: Love.
Eight men and women stand around a conference table that has blankets on it.
Three women stand together and smile. One holds a gong that another woman, Jamie Moldafsky, strikes. Behind them people wear red shirts and hairnets while leaning over tubs with food.

Meal Pack for 9/11 Day, Los Angeles

Los Angeles team members packed more than 500 packages that will be used for 3,000 meals.

Haven Toronto, Canada

Canadian team members Kevin Truong, Chris Bieniek, Stella Okoh, Jeffrey Kung, and Charmaine Moniz volunteer at Haven Toronto, a center for homeless men. Team members helped with a meal for clients by preparing the food, setting up, serving the food, and cleaning up.

Rebuilding Together of Greater Charlotte, North Carolina

North Carolina team members volunteer with Rebuilding Together of Greater Charlotte. They helped make a U.S. Army veteran’s home healthier, safer, and more energy efficient.

Early Education Center, Wilmington, Delaware

Team member Jerron Garret prepares to assemble furniture at Stubbs Early Education Center in Wilmington, Delaware. Team members there planted new flowers in the courtyard; assembled furniture for the library, including shelving, tables, and chairs; and painted murals.

Action Ministries, Atlanta

Team members in Atlanta volunteer with Action Ministries, which focuses on hunger relief, housing, and education for children and families across Georgia.

Humane Society of Charlotte, North Carolina

Team members Kasey Wehrum, Erin Knight, and Taylor Blanchard volunteer at the Humane Society of Charlotte in North Carolina. Team members there helped clean, organize, and spread love to the animals at the shelter.

Heart Walk, San Francisco

CEO Allen Parker, third from right, and other team members participate in the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk in San Francisco.

United Way, Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin

Team members in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, put together 500 emergency food kits and 150 water filter kits at a United Way event for the city’s Harambee neighborhood.

Ignacio Conchos Elementary School, Phoenix

Team members Meredith Hull, Christa Landas, David Acosta, Michael Merriam, and Jeremy Kellim prepare to paint classrooms for the students at Ignacio Conchos Elementary School in Phoenix.

Tacoma/Pierce County Habitat for Humanity, Tacoma, Washington

Team members in Tacoma, Washington, participate in a Habitat for Humanity build.

Rock the Block, Philadelphia

Philadelphia team members volunteer and donate to Rock the Block, an event helping to rehabilitate homes in an underserved neighborhood.

Chester Woods Park, Rochester, Minnesota

Team members in Rochester, Minnesota, collect seeds at Chester Woods Park for the restoration of prairie land. Many of these seeds will be used in one of three local parks, and the work will ultimately help restore 25 acres of prairie land.

Community Animal Rescue & Adoption Inc., Jackson, Mississippi

Ridgeland, Mississippi, team members Shalynn Lott, Alondra Rodriguez, Vanessa Contreras, Alisha McGrotha, Lindsey Metcalf, and Kaitlyn Williams make dog toys from old Wells Fargo T-shirts for Community Animal Rescue & Adoption Inc., a shelter in Jackson, Mississippi.

Piedmont Animal Rescue, Mooresville, North Carolina

Team member Sarah Lesky volunteers with Piedmont Animal Rescue in Mooresville, North Carolina.

Philadelphia Day of Service

Team member Kenneth Moore drills a door sign for a home in North Philadelphia. Ninety Wells Fargo volunteers worked on 50 homes there by weeding, painting, caulking, and hanging house number signs.

PATH (People Assisting The Homeless), Los Angeles

Team members volunteer their time to support PATH’s (People Assisting The Homeless) regional homeless center in Los Angeles. They assembled hygiene kits with socks, deodorant, soap, shampoo, a handwritten note, and other products.

Community Housing Solutions, Greensboro, North Carolina

North Carolina team member Sam Bass paints a house for Community Housing Solutions as part of Paint the Town Red Greensboro event.

Day of Service event, Pacoima, California

Team members Christopher Hirth and Jordan Chung help rehabilitate housing units for an affordable housing complex in Pacoima, California. Team members also planted edible gardens there.

United Way, New York City

Team members in New York City assembled and decorated reading kits with culturally-relevant books, bookmarks, a handwritten note, and an assortment of child-friendly items to promote reading. The kits were for United Way’s ReadNYC program.

Mooresville Soup Kitchen, North Carolina

Wells Fargo team members volunteer at the Mooresville Soup Kitchen in Mooresville, North Carolina. They cooked, served food, and sorted food in the pantry, helping more than 70 families have a healthy, hot lunch and receive food for the week.

Moisson Montréal, Canada

Team members volunteer sorting food at Moisson Montréal, a food bank in Montreal that supports thousands of local people in need.

McAlpine Elementary School, Charlotte, North Carolina

Team members at the McAlpine Elementary School Day of Service event in Charlotte, North Carolina. About 40 team member volunteers gathered to help South Charlotte students thrive in a well-maintained learning environment. Team members raked leaves, tidied up the school garden, cleared litter from the soccer fields and playgrounds, and worked in the office to prepare upcoming classroom activities.

Habitat for Humanity, San Gabriel, California

Team members work on a Habitat for Humanity home in San Gabriel Valley, California.

16th and Haak Elementary School, Reading, Pennsylvania

Team members Tajae Reese, Florine Dodd, Kellesha Burton, and Chris Szabo volunteer at 16th and Haak Elementary School in Reading, Pennsylvania. They were among 143 team members who painted games on a playground, painted walls in classrooms, planted a butterfly garden, and printed inspirational sayings on ceiling tiles and in the hallways.

Junior Achievement of Upper Midwest, St. Paul, Minnesota

Team members in the Twin Cities volunteer at Junior Achievement of the Upper Midwest. More than 50 team members assembled classroom education kits that will be used during the school year.

GLIDE, San Francisco

Team members in San Francisco, including Head of Stakeholder Relations Jim Rowe, front row, and Head of Investor Relations John Campbell, center, volunteer at GLIDE, an organization that works to break the cycles of poverty and marginalization. The team members served meals to people in the community.

Beach cleanup, Jacksonville, Florida

Team members in Jacksonville, Florida, participate in a beach cleanup.

Challis Senior Center and the HUB, Challis, Idaho

Dawn Maydole and Jessica Szabo were among the Idaho team members who participated in Wells Fargo’s Dedicated Day of Service. Maydole cooked meals at the Challis Senior Center, and Szabo volunteered at the HUB, a secondhand store that donates its profits back into the community.

Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis, Tennessee

Pam Short, Regina Newkirk, Jon Busse, Lisa Rucker, Jerome Franklin, and Mike Jones volunteer with Habitat for Humanity of Greater Memphis in Tennessee.

Habitat for Humanity – DeKalb, Atlanta

Team members from Wells Fargo Advisors present Habitat for Humanity – DeKalb in Tucker, Georgia, with a $15,000 grant. They also renovated a 76-year-old widow’s home in Atlanta.

Feeding South Dakota, Sioux Falls

Wells Fargo team members donate to Feeding South Dakota, a hunger relief organization fighting to eliminate hunger in the state.

Youth Emergency Services & Shelter of Iowa and Central Iowa Shelter & Services, Des Moines

Team member Shane Zimmerman, left, trims bushes at Youth Emergency Services & Shelter of Iowa; team member Colin Smith works at Central Iowa Shelter & Services, where team members built garden boxes that will double the organization’s capacity to grow fresh produce.

United Way, Denver

Denver team members Ashley Johnson, Nelly Hernandez, Greg Cooper, Yadira Garduno, and Peter Valdez volunteer with the United Way and help to make 1,000 lunches for people in need.

Clay County Habitat for Humanity, Middleburg, Florida

Team member Michelle Berman helps build a shed to store tools at an office site for Clay County Habitat for Humanity in Florida.

Classroom Central, Charlotte, North Carolina

Oluchi Thomas and other Charlotte, North Carolina, team members make flash cards for Classroom Central, which collects and distributes free school supplies to teachers.

Egleston Children’s Hospital and Atlanta Children’s Shelter, Atlanta

Team members in Atlanta make blankets for Egleston Children’s Hospital. They also prepared fall-themed bulletin boards for Atlanta Children’s Shelter.

Rise Against Hunger, San Francisco

Chief Marketing Officer Jamie Moldafsky helps kick off an event in San Francisco benefiting Rise Against Hunger, an international hunger relief organization. Marketing team members in Charlotte, North Carolina; Des Moines, Iowa; Minneapolis; San Francisco; and St. Louis assembled 100,000 food kits for the organization.

Written by: Jessica Pacek
Contributions from: Hector Batista