Global Volunteering

Achieving Greater Together in 2025

In October, Northern Trust once again took part in the firm’s global month of service, “Achieving Greater Together”, contributing a record of 63,214 volunteer hours in our local communities. As part of this, thousands of employees across 20 countries rolled up their sleeves with more than 1,500 charities, activities ranging from: packing meals for the hungry in Sydney; supporting early childhood education in Bangalore; harvesting food with A Safe Haven Foundation in Chicago; putting together holiday gifts for children in Limerick; and building homes with Habitat for Humanity. Furthermore, for every hour volunteered in October, the company donates 50 meals through partners, including Feeding America. That contribution helped provide more than 3.1 million meals this year. By uniting across teams and geographies, we’re making a lasting difference for communities, reflecting the spirit of service that drives everything we do.

Santa Barbara, California, United States

Direct Relief

Northern Trust employees partnered with Direct Relief, a humanitarian medical aid non-profit, to assemble dental hygiene kits for communities as part of preparations for emergency disasters. Direct Relief regularly organizes volunteers to pack thousands of dental and hygiene kits for local, national and international distribution. These kits contain toothpaste, toothbrushes and floss for school children, homeless individuals and disaster survivors.

Hong Kong City, Hong Kong

Breadline by HKFoodWorks

Every day in Hong Kong, while one in five people struggle to eat, over 3,250 tons of food waste are dumped in landfills. Breadline, the city’s first public digital platform for food rescue, enables Northern Trust volunteers to connect in real time with associated bakeries to collect surplus food. Together, they are saving valuable resources, reducing landfill and supporting homeless, low-income families and the elderly poor by delivering fresh food directly to their tables.

Stockholm, Sweden

Swedish Red Cross

Röda Korset is a Red Cross secondhand shop and café where Northern Trust volunteers help sort items that have been contributed by donors --furniture, household items, books, toys, clothes and more. Everything is sourced from donations and the surplus earnings go to fund Red Cross humanitarian efforts. The store is Ecolabelled, meaning it has received an official certification recognizing specific environmental standards, so by choosing to buy second-hand, shoppers generate less waste and contribute to sustainable consumption.