Consider helping a colleague by donating PTO
Your gift of a PTO donation can make a bigger impact than you know. If just 250 people donated eight PTO hours each, that would be 2,000 hours.
By Stephanie Williams
Manager, Benefits, USA Health
Numbers are important to everyone. In Human Resources, we use them to track everything from pay rates to retirement contributions to PTO accrual. Right now, some of our employees really need your help with their PTO numbers.
At the beginning of the pandemic, we started an Emergency PTO Donation Program to assist those who needed donated PTO to handle unexpected needs. While this program has proven to be very successful, over time PTO donations have diminished. Unfortunately, the need for donated PTO hours has not diminished and instead continues to grow.
Currently, we have 27 employees on a waiting list that have requested a total of nearly 2,000 donated PTO hours. These requests remain unfulfilled.
The Emergency PTO Donation Program has been successful since implementation for several reasons, but here are a few that stand out to me:
- PTO hours can be donated in small increments, starting with a minimum of eight hours.
- PTO donations are applied on a “first- come, first- served” basis. This ensures that employees requesting donations are treated fairly.
- Donations are not a taxable event to the donor.
These reasons make the program a win for both the recipient and the donor!
While 2,000 hours may sound like a lot of hours, let me break this down:
If 250 people donated eight PTO hours each, that would equal 2,000 hours.
If 125 people donated 16 PTO hours each, that would equal 2,000 hours.
You can see where I am going with this. This is a good time of the year to review your PTO balance to see if you can spare a few hours. Remember that at the end of the fiscal year, PTO balances for staff employees cannot exceed 480 hours. If you have any hours you cannot use, (e.g., you expect to be over your accrual limit for PTO, retirement, etc.), please consider donating those hours to benefit a colleague in need.
Your gift of a PTO donation can make a bigger impact than you know. The mission of USA Health is to help people lead longer, better lives. This same mission also can apply to your colleagues. Consider making a PTO donation today!
To donate, please visit our website.
