http://philanthropy.com/news/updates/index.php?id=10171

First and foremost, I found it extremely encouraging that employees are feeling more willing to volunteer during the tough times we are having. With unemployment on the rise and the economy still suffering, it seems more likely that people with jobs would want to spend their time making money rather than not. However, this survey has shown otherwise.
I personally find great satisfaction in giving of my time and energy to those in need. I cannot always give money as I do support myself and volunteering is a great way to give back some of the blessings I have received.
The fact that the survey polled larger companies leads me to believe that the findings are pretty accurate, since employees of All State and The Gap tend to be, what I believe, "typical" Americans. Obviously, with all surveys, there will be outliers and the results cannot be guaranteed for every single person, but the 71% findings is astounding.
The idea of companies donating to charities that its employees is really cool. It might be interesting if larger retail companies also created the option for customers to choose where the company donated funds. Of course, there would need to be a list of options for customers to choose from because otherwise it would be much to chaotic.
I had never heard of companies allowing employees to volunteer during the workday, but this is a really cool concept. Often non-profits need people to volunteer to do work during normal business hours and that cuts down on a huge chunk of volunteers. If companies continued to adapt this concept to fit their own personal schedules, it could really benefit the company, non-profits, employees, and employee relations. I would definitely consider it a plus if a company I was applying for allowed me to do my volunteer work when it was the best time for everyone.