CC-Projects in North America

To strengthen the link between the students of the main Universities of Puebla and the different Vice Presidencies of VWM by sharing with them our experience in current topics of the automotive industry to promote the image of the group's brands and seek to attract talents with the disruptive and innovative spirit that is currently required to stand out in the modern work environment. This 2021 began with our commercial area NSO, in which during the different months of the year the directors of the different brands offered free webinars with relevant topics of the industry at a national level, with the purpose of promoting and attracting new talents for VWM. this project will continue for the following year and the objective is to continue with this practice in each vice-presidency.

Wellness program for employees and their families under the motto: "Better families make better employees and better employees make a better company".

The Intensive Online Family Happiness Program started in 2020 through Webinars with the objective of promoting positive relationships in VWM families, with the participation of 2,000 employees with their families in the first Generation, and in 2021, the 2nd Generation started with 2,408 participants.

Benefits:

• VWM employees promote positive relationships and work on their family project.
  
• Family Academy offerings: "Family Days" and "Family Wellness Program".
  
• Based on Positive Psychology
  

Creation of two offices that operate from Monday to Saturday. One in San José Chiapa and one in Puebla.

Events created within the framework of the International Anticorruption Day. The first edition of the Anticorruption Day Forum included the employees and leaders of the VW Group's subsidiaries in Mexico. The second edition involved Volkswagen de México’s employees and the collaboration of Compliance Officers from other Mexican companies.

Analysis of  Society of San José Chiapa and the region in order to give attetión to the main needs in education.

Annual event focused in education and inclusion to women of the region, in the automotive industry. Target: 130 girls of the region and employees' daughters.

Rally inside the Audi Plant with topics like: water, sustainability and waste.

Orchestra formed by more than 200 children from SJC and the region, with daily practice by Fundación Azteca.

Check up for 200 children and teenagers from the Audi orchestra. Weekly program with groups of 30 children on Saturdays.

Surveys with all the children and interviews with some parents and teachers.

"Audi Mexico made with the German soccer club FC Ingolstadt 04 and SITAUDI, the first ""FC Ingolstadt Soccer Camp"".

The event took place at the facilities of the Instituto Poblano del Deporte y Juventud. This camp was focused for 120 children (6-14 years old) of employees and of the region, who were trained by FCI trainers."

Employees from Audi México get together with people from San José Chiapa, give Christmas gifts to the children of the community and share this important season with the families of the community.

Volkswagen de México seeks that its employees have a comprehensive development balancing work and family, that is why in 2021 we started the activation of events such as: Athletics races, 17 sports leagues (soccer, basketball, swimming, tennis and more), training centers, fitness classes and special events for the whole family. Always taking care of safety and hygiene measures.

A week with activities such as: Smart Factory tour, Premium Road Tour, Greenovation tour, talks with Audi experts and rally by the Training Center facilities.

The objective is to strengthen the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem of the state of Guanajuato, the municipality of León and Volkswagen de México by being a benchmark for collaboration, promoting the use of agile methodologies and work in multidisciplinary groups, thus maximizing creativity in problem solving. Seeking to promote the use of technology and talent attraction,by linking with university students in the state. The 3 clusters to be developed (COBOTS, BIODIGESTOR and THERMOSOLAR GENERATION SYSTEM) were defined through an internal call for proposals at our VW Silao plant. This project began in May with a convocation in the state of Gto, where we obtained 20 multidisciplinary teams from 12 different universities of which 14 met the minimum requirements and began for 14 weeks the development of their projects under the SCRUM framework accompanied by Agile Coach and a VWM specialist. During this phase the teams participated in the Hannover Messe. These teams participated in "VW TANK" in which our finalists were defined. On November 24th they presented to VWM and government personnel to define first, second and third place. The winning team will travel to Barcelona and will have the opportunity to implement the project at VWM.

1966-1969 Foundation of Training School in Puebla Downtown. 37 Azubis 1st generation
1971-1973 Recognition of training programs by CAMEXA and Inauguration of ESCAP in Puebla plant.
1996 Foundation of INFODE (“Instituto”)
2015-2020 Start of Dual Training in Guanajuato and CAMEXA Certification of Training School.

The Dual Program has the objective of helping young people from the states of Puebla and Guanajuato to continue their studies through two programs:

1. The Vocational Training (Azubis)

• German Model
  
• Mexican Model (1+2 years, Guanajuato)
  
• 3 years technical degrees (TSU)
  
• 80% Practices in Training Workshop & Production areas
  
• Specialists in Maintenance or Production Processes
  
• WV Group Standard (Currícula and Pedagogic Model)
  
• Supplier training: High Standard Education Service according to production needs
  
• Collaboration with Audi Mexico and CAMEXA

2. Dual (Engineer) Studies

• German Model (Duale Hochschule / DHBW) Puebla, with local adaption in Guanajuato.
  
• Dual Studies Program Puebla
  o First Dual Engineer Degree in Mexico - “Industrial Engineering”
  o 18 Dual students since 2017
  o 10 Quatrimesters / 4 in Company
  o Preparation for “Key positions” in: Production areas, Purchasing, Technical Development, IT
• Dual Studies Program León
  o Mechatronics Engineering
  o 4 Dual students in 2018
  o 11 Quatrimesters
  o Key positions as specialists in Production areas

5,819 graduates: Pioneer of dual system in Mexico.

1.5 years of training in which they do an internship in Audi México, language course in Germany, studies in a University in Germany and finally an internship at AUDI AG. At the end of this program and once they have graduated and if they have a good performance we hire them.

La Bufa has been supplying electricity from wind power sources since 2018.

As of 2019 Volkswagen de México has stably achieved 70% of total clean electricity consumption, thanks to this initiative.

This includes 100% of the electrical energy of the engine plant in Silao coming from this wind park.

CEMEFI is the mos important social institution in México. It makes an annual contest in order to name the companies with the best practices in topics like: social development, employees' life quality, and environmental care.

Three focus group sessions with 15 employees. One hour session, guided discussion (per session). Results: Complete perception about the sustainability programs at Audi México.

Within VWM in allusion to the PRIDE MONTH we created in an organic and voluntary way our first ERG (Employee resource group). We are proud of our affinity group called "PROUD YOURSELF" integrated by different collaborators within VWM. This group has given different talks internally where a forum is enabled to talk about diversity. This has a positive impact on our VWM family and the Diversity and Inclusion strategy. We are sure that with this great initiative we will impact and encourage more employees to join and focus on a positive change. Together we will make a transformation.

SiSR (Sustainability in Supplier Relationship team inside Purchasing VWM), organized several trainings for suppliers in the calendar week 47/48 to get the participants to:

• Describe what HRDD is and understand the terminology used
  
• Outline the 5 key stages of an HRDD approach with examples of how it works in practice
  
• Identify where you have HRDD processes already in place and where you need to take action on new processes

This workshop assumes that participants have a basic understanding of what Human Rights are and how they relate to business. Framework for this task is the German Law of Supply Chain due Diligence.

This event had the participation of Seat and Volkswagen Argentina with talks by experts on the subject.

• Erika Morales Melendez
  
• Paula Cecilia Reyes Rivas
  
• Cristina Beltran Camps
  
• Zinno, Maria Eugenia

8 Sessions with a total of 108 suppliers were trained.

One week of Factory tours designed specially for the sons and daughters of Audi México Employees. 15 children per day, with more activities.

An event aimed to the middle management of the VW Group's subsidiaries, to discuss the culture of integrity and corporate evolution that needs to be driven by the management. More than 800 leaders participated from four local entities. There was also an intervention by the Compliance Officer of one of the leading Mexican companies in corporate ethics, where he shared his best practices for an integer leadership.

The internal lagoon captures the greatest amount of rainwater during the rainy season for its use in production processes.

It has an area of 7 Ha and a water retention capacity of 234,000 m³.

 

During the month of March, in synergy with AUDI MEXICO, we commemorated International Women's Day. The objective of this event was to offer free talks, one for each week of March, to VWM and Audi Mexico employees for both Blue collars and White Collars. The talks that were offered were:

• Importance of the Role of Women in the working world.
  
• Success Story within the VW Group.
  
• Non-discrimination
  
• Experience Exchange Forum

83% participation was obtained, with more than 660 people interested in the different talks. 95% of the participants rated the topics of this project as excellent.

This project builds on and contributes to our Diversity and Inclusion strategy.

The internship can last 2-6 months. Each department is in charge of providing a project for the development of the intern. This also adds value to Audi México.

Offer medical checkups to the families of San José Chiapa to contribute to the wellbeing of the region. Collaboration between students of the following faculties: nutrition, nursery, odontology, medicine and physiotherapy together with the medical service of Audi Mexico.

Tours designed to show the production process for children, during the vacation period. The groups are provided for 10 children and their parents working at Audi.

SiSR (Sustainability in Supplier Relationship team inside Purchasing VWM), organized a Supplier Forum where the main pillars areas of the sustainability in the NAR Region presented important information about sustainability in the supply Chain, Environmental Sustainability, Business and Human Rights and carried out an open discussion panel about the main challenges of the sustainability in the supply Chain. Best practices of Volkswagen NAR Region were shared with the suppliers and addition to that were set sustainability tasks for suppliers.

This year experts on the subject from the Volkswagen Group participated by giving talks such as:

1. Sustainability in Supplier Relations
TALK: Sustainability matters-Decarbonization in the Supply Chain NAR Region

• Thomas Bernstein, Vice President Purchasing VWM
  
• Inga von Seelen, Senior Vice President Purchasing VWGoA

TALK: Responsible Supply Chain at Audi AG

• Marco Philippi, Head of Procurement Strategy Audi AG

2. Environmental Sustainability
TALK: Environmental Strategy NAR Region

• Julio Marin, Environmental Sustainability Officer VWM
  
• Michael Finley, Manager of Infrastructure at Volkswagen Chattanooga

3. Business & Human Rights
TALK: BHR declaration and HR Due Diligence for Suppliers

• Martin Mariscal, Compliance & Integrity Officer VWM

TALK: Whistleblower System

• Stephanie Davis, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer VWGoA

4. Sustainability Task
TALK: Sustainability Rating and Next Steps

• Rafael de la Mora, Commodity of Procurement Systems and Processes

5. Discussion panel
How to face the challenges of the Sustainability?

• Mauricio Kuri , Corporate Communication Director VWM
  
• Martin Mariscal, Compliance & Integrity Officer VWM
  
• Rafael de La Mora, Commodity of Procurement Systems and Processes VWM

Registered 847 participants. Participants in total: 519- Total of suppliers 416

Participation of the local Compliance Officer in a discussion forum organized by the Citizen Participation Committee of Yucatán in order to share corporate practices and the importance of private industry on the fight against corruption.

Audi Mexico collaborates with the Technical Munich University (TUM) and the Audi Environmental Foundation to develop a study of how the concentration of trees in an open area affects their continuous development. The project intends to cover approx. 5 hectares in which the plantation of 6,000 trees is going to be performed. This measure is intended to have a continuous research on the area and of the development of the trees throughout the years, with the opportunity to identify what are the ideal conditions for biodiversity to develop and how its influenced by the environment. This project is part of a global study, where similar plantations were set up at all Audi sites.

Audi México implements the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, through Goal 15, improving the landscaping of the region, increasing the afforestation, and creating habitats for biological diversity. In addition, with Objective 17, create alliances between private initiative and civil society organizations for sustainable development.

On December 2020, the agreements with the Puebla State Ministry of the Environment were signed to offset for the environmental impact of the expansions that the Puebla Plant has had inside, in a total area of 511 hectares of the Protected Natural Area with the same Name.

The "Cerro Zapotecas" project considers the reforestation of 34,000 native and fruit trees, sanitation actions, soil and water conservation works and fire-cutting gaps and training for community residents.

The project will be a link to the community through environmental training for the preservation of the Protected Natural Area.

Reforestation projects contribute to the strategic goal of having 1 million trees planted by 2023.

This project started in 2021 and runs for a period of five years, over a land of 1,500 hectares located in the state of Puebla, with the cooperation of the National Research Institute for Forestry, Agriculture and Livestock Breeding (INIFAP). 150,000 trees will be planted, different research projects will be carried out in areas such as CO₂ capture, water capture and infiltration, biodiversity, and the environmental education program will be implemented in schools in the region.

Reforestation projects contribute to the strategic goal of having 1 million trees planted by 2023.

65 interviews conducted by Tecnologico de Monterrey students with people from San José Chiapa. The results ae delivered to Audi México.

The community of San José Ozumba in cooperation with Audi planted 100,000 trees and built 25,000 trenches in order to retain water in an area of 100 hectares.

With the objective of maintain our social VWM commitment with the community, we support the participation of the employees, family members, and general population with 4 vaccination campaigns at VWM Sport Club and the last one in the collage of Tecnológico de Monterrey;

Providing them all the facilities to be able to attend.

On the 1^st Campaign (CW 30) was vaccinated the population of 30-39 age range 1^st and 2^nd (CW 34) dose of Pfizer and AstraZeneca. In the 2nd one was vaccinated only the people who need the booster vaccine (2^nd dose Pfizer) according to their scheme.

The 3^th (CW 41) and 4^th (CW 46) Campaign was exclusively for the 19 -29 age range (first and second vaccine of Sputnik).

With this 3 vaccination campaigns we managed to vaccinate 61.590 people (6.163 from VWVM and 55.427 general population), hoping for the current campaign more than 500 employees and 30.000 general population.

This impact is not just for the immunity of the plant, it is for the benefit of Puebla city.

Development skills activities, doing in a week with children of the región.

During the annual convention with the national dealership network, the Together4Integrity program and its impact on customers were presented. The objective was to promote a culture of I&C along the entire value chain.

During this year 2021, VWM received an important invitation from CAMEXA to join us through a self-diagnosis and based on a series of questions and evidence of best practices in Diversity and Inclusion within VWM. In recent months we have received the great news that VWM joins these companies with best practices with an emblem as well as having a presence through a newsletter within the CAMEXA. We are extremely proud to be a reference for other companies in terms of Diversity and Inclusion. #ALLPEOPLEAREWELCOME

Program teaches children from disadvantaged neighborhoods the values of teamwork, participation and sports activity through soccer programs and poetry.Program reflects Audi and VW support for soccer in the U.S.

Audi of America collaborated with the Black Automotive Media Group (BAMG) to launch an internship and guest lecture series at Lincoln University that introduced students to the global automotive industry. The internship program named, “The Driving Force,” provided ten mass communications students with multimedia career development and create opportunities for diverse student talent to engage with automotive manufacturers and other industry suppliers and businesses. Through the collaboration with Lincoln University, student recipients experienced a 10-week virtual, field-credit internship including training and mentoring sessions focusing on the field of automotive journalism. Audi of America lent its expertise to students with guest lecturers from Product Planning and Marketing to bring a real-world perspective from the automotive sector to the course curriculum. Lincoln University, the nation’s first degree-granting Historically Black College and University (HBCU), educates and empowers students to lead their communities and change the world by providing a rigorous liberal arts education featuring active and collaborative learning. The BAMG is a distinguished group of Black reporters and writers representing over 200 years of combined experience in automotive journalism within radio, television, print, experiential marketing, and social media. This collaboration will continue in 2022.

Audi, a long-time supporter of the motion picture arts and the America Film Institute (AFI), continues on with the pivotal scholarship program, focusing on expanding opportunities for female storytellers. The Audi Fellowship scholarship program evolved through a shared passion for supporting master filmmakers and supports one promising female director for the entire two-year AFI Conservatory enrollment. The recipient possesses exceptional talent, passion, need, and a fearlessly forward spirit. The third fellow, Giselle Bonilla, started her program in the fall of 2021 and will graduate Spring 2023.

Ranked as the #1 film school in America by the Hollywood Reporter, the AFI Conservatory is among the most respected filmmaker training programs in the world. The program includes notable alumni Amy Heckerling (Fast Times at Ridgemont High), Mimi Leder (The Leftovers), and Patty Jenkins (Monster), the first female director to helm a major comic book franchise (Wonder Woman). https://fest.afi.com/afi-and-audi/

Held virtually in New York, the Forbes Idea Incubator was characterized by endless collaboration, innovation and creative thinking, providing NYU Tandon students – with backgrounds in science, technology, engineering or mathematics ( STEM) – the opportunity to be awarded the first-ever Audi Drive Progress Grant. As an extension of the Audi-sponsored Forbes Women’s Summit held in December 2020, the Idea Incubator challenged these students to utilize their STEM knowledge to address better education tailored to the female demographic about the benefits and ease-of-use of driving an electric vehicle. Following an engaging three-hour work session, six student teams presented their ideas to a panel including representatives from the NYU Tandon School and Forbes. Presentations showcased a variety of solutions and a $57,500 grant donation was made to the winning students to help cover tuition and expenses. This activity launched in 2017 and will continue in 2022.

Volkswagen Chattooga sponsored Chattanooga’s annual MAINx24 Parade and Street Festival in December 2021. Thirty-two Volkswagen Chattanooga employees participated in the parade and gave candy to children in the community and 15 VW employees volunteered as crossing guards to help event participants cross the street safely.

One Friday per month, we shop, plan and cook breakfast for about 30 people staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Sandy Springs, Ga. There is a large kitchen at the facility, so we bring in the supplies and cook the food on-site. All employees donate time and money.

One grantee of Volkswagen of America and The Conservation Fund’s partnership was the Great Smokey Mountains Institute at Tremont. The grant expanded a successful pilot program that provided a pathway of environmental learning, recreation and leadership experiences for underserved Knoxville youth, including education programs, summer camps and internships within Great Smoky Mountains National Park, monthly school-based sessions with regional environmental and STEM leaders, and student-led community stewardship and nature-exploration events in Knoxville. In 2021, the grant funding allowed local students from Fulton High School to stay at Great Smoky Mountains National Park for a five-day environmental learning program. Students will continue to meet with faculty monthly to plan a few community engagement and stewardship event.

Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful also received a grant from the partnership between Volkswagen of America and The Conservation Fund. Keep Tennessee Beautiful took volunteers out in its boat to participate in the Cherokee National Forest River Cleanup Series, which will both raise awareness for conservation of our waterways and showcase the vastness of Cherokee National Forest through five river cleanups spanning from Watauga Lake to the Ocoee River. Grant money also provided for a truck to haul a boat to scouting and clean-up sites and allowed for an AmeriCorps position to be available for the first time since the organization formed.

The National Forest Foundation likewise received a grant from the Volkswagen and The Conservation Fund partnership. The National Forest Foundation was able to provide United Keetoowah Band (UKB) youth an opportunity to gain valuable natural resource management work experience and engage in hands-on stewardship of natural and cultural resources on the Cherokee National Forest while strengthening the connection to their ancestral homelands. In Summer 2021, the UKB Youth Corps crew joined Forest Service Staff and the Southeast Youth Conservation Corps crew to conduct trail management and learn more about the history and culture of the land. Future activities include continuing trail stewardship programs, conducting fish studies, teaching plant identification and invasive species management, and visiting Chota, a historic Overhill Cherokee town site nearby.

Partners of Cherokee National Forest received a grant from the partnership between Volkswagen of America and The Conservation Fund. Partners of Cherokee National Forest was able to update, publish, distribute and promote an all-inclusive map that provides the public with an overview of federal and state outdoor recreation sites within this region anchored by the Cherokee National Forest and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. In 2021, an electronic version of the map became available and 90,000 copies of the print edition were distributed to area visitor and welcoming centers.

WaterWays was also awarded a grant from the partnership between Volkswagen of America and The Conservation Fund. WaterWays developed an environmental education pilot program at Enterprise South Nature Park, built an outdoor classroom and interpretive nature trail adjacent to VW Wetlands, and brought students from three racially and economically diverse schools to test out the program who will then design and install green stormwater infrastructure at their schools with our assistance. During Spring 2021, kids were brought in via Zoom classes to help with the design process, bringing in native plants, rain gardens, and rain barrels to help water community gardens.

Volkswagen of America and The Conservation Fund unveiled a new mural in downtown Chattanooga by artist Steffi Lynn that serves as a permanent motivational symbol for embracing the outdoors.

Volkswagen Chattanooga established a partnership with the Creative Discovery Museum in Chattanooga, Tennessee and committed to donating $1 million over the course of five years beginning in 2020. The Volkswagen STEMzone and new Science Theater involve robotics, 3D printing, electric vehicles and renewable energy. Several Volkswagen employees serve as an advisory committee to the museum during the design and buildout. Renovations on the STEMzone and other exhibits are expected to begin in early 2022. 70,000+ local students are served through the museum’s programs and the museum sees nearly 300,000 visitors from all across the country annually.

The theme for Earth Day 2020 was climate action. Volkswagen Chattanooga held a virtual event to encourage employees to participate in environmental stewardship and celebrating nature with their loved ones. Participating employees were featured in the plant’s newsletter and in a virtual all-team meeting.

In partnership with the Greater Washington Urban League (GWUL), the VWGoA Public Affairs Team hosted 17 high school students at the Herndon HQ for a one-week, comprehensive learning experience that covered the VW Group brands and departments as well as important topics impacting the automotive industry. The students were engaged in presentations and activities from various areas of the company, including Marketing, Finance, Connected Services, E-Mobility and Regulatory Affairs.

• The idea for this project originated from a conversation during the summer of 2020 between the Public Affairs Team and George Lambert, President of GWUL. Mr. Lambert explained that one of the critical ways VW can increase the economic and political empowerment of historically underserved diverse populations is to enrich students’ learning experiences and expand their career ambitions. Each of the participants was required to apply to this program. VW worked with GWUL to promote this program on several media channels, such as social media and radio outlets.
  

The Goals Give Back program was established in partnership with the New York Red Bulls for every goal scored during their season, Audi will donate four trees to be planted in a community in need. In 2021, we had the opportunity to plant 30 trees to rehabilitate a formally deforested park. This is just part of the many trees still needing to be planted for the season.

Three of our in-dealer trainers will be on track to instruct drivers. Some employees will be showing an RS3 LMS from Texas that will be generate excitement from Audi owners and kids alike. We will be welcoming drivers from all over Florida. At least 50 families participated.

When the world went into lock down during the COVID-19 pandemic, the LEE Initiative went to work providing immediate assistance to restaurants, restaurant workers, and the local food supply chains that support them. Throughout 2020 and 2021, Audi provided 25+ vehicles and $500K to the LEE Initiative’s 19 pop-up relief kitchens across the US, helping LEE to serve over 500K meals to those in need.

From the collaboration during COVID, a partnership was born. As part of their mission to help bring more diversity and equality to the restaurant industry, the LEE Initiative hosts their annual Women Culinary & Spirits program, which provides training and mentorship programs for up-and-coming women in the restaurant industry. Audi is proud to be a part of the Women Culinary and Spirits program, providing support to both mentors and mentees as they go through their journey.

https://media.audiusa.com/en-us/releases/445
https://www.leeinitiative.org/women-culinary-spirits  

The future of technological innovation relies on our next generation of workers, and it is up to us to prepare young adults today by giving them the skills needed to take on this enormous responsibility. For nearly a decade, Volkswagen Group of America has committed to cultivating students and teachers interested in studying advanced automotive technology through the VWGoA Partners in Education program.

Since 2008, VWGoA has contributed $ 4.1 million to helping schools and technical institutions throughout the Virginia and Washington, D.C. area augment the educational experience delivered by automotive technician and business management programs.

In 2019, Audi of America joined with the National Safety Council in the U.S. to create the Partners for Automated Vehicle Education (PAVE) coalition. This non-profit effort is dedicated to better educating the public, policymakers and media on the true status of AV research and development, as well as the future societal opportunities new mobility solutions could unlock. PAVE launched to high acclaim at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the world's largest technology showcase. Twenty-five other OEMs, tech companies, safety and advocacy groups form the steering committee chaired by Audi and National Safety Council. Among the OEM partners are Volkswagen Group and the AUDI AG subsidiary, Autonomous Intelligent Driving (AID).

On Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018, Volkswagen delivered an Atlas full of school supply donations to the United Way’s 2018 Stuff the Bus event held at Office Depot. Stuff the Bus has collected school supply donations to provide for Chattanooga children, teachers and schools in Hamilton County for the last nine years.

Volkswagen Group of America, Chattanooga Operations (Volkswagen Chattanooga) and the State of Tennessee established a $1 million program that will allow Hamilton County middle and high schools to apply for funds to create a science lab in their school.

Named Volkswagen eLabs, the program will allow students to gain access to emergent technologies, including automated manufacturing equipment, 3D printers, robotics, programmable microcomputers, renewable energy kits and other science-related activities. By the end of 2017, 8 of the planned 16 Volkswagen eLabs in Hamilton County were operational.

In 2017, more than 450 Volkswagen Group of America employees volunteered over 1,400 hours of their time with charitable organizations in the communities where they live and work, as part of the company's Get Involved "Summer of Service" program - a collective, concerted volunteer effort extending from May to early September which empowers employees across the country to support and give back to their communities.

VWGoA also encourages employees to "Get Involved" year-round, providing robust incentives for employees to serve their communities. These include an employee donation-matching initiative, a company-wide Dollars for Doers program that makes an annual, one-time financial donation to a charity at which a full-time employee has volunteered for 8 hours or more, and providing employees with paid time-off for volunteering activities.

Due to the ongoing global semiconductor shortage, Volkswagen Chattanooga temporarily suspended production activities during the weeks of June 7 and June 14, 2021. During this time, 892 employees volunteered at 18 local organizations. Collectively, they contributed more than 4,500 volunteer hours. Some of these projects included:

• Several Volkswagen production employees assembled 98 bicycles for local children through Boys and Girls Club of Chattanooga.
  
• With the Lookout Mountain Conservancy, employees reconstructed Laney Loop Trail and laid 75 bags of mulch; poured a concrete drive to a parking lot by mixing 50 bags of concrete and 45 bags of gravel; and cleared a hillside in the bouldering park, filling two 30-yard dumpsters.
  
• Employees assembled and soldered components for 500 solar kits for distance-learning lessons alongside the Creative Discovery Museum’s science department.