Hispanic Heritage Month Recap: 123 Volunteers, 46 Companies

Employee volunteering is one of the most powerful tools for engagement, culture, and community. But finding the right opportunities is hard. The kind that are easy to organize, scale across remote teams, and deliver real impact.

That's why Percent Pledge created Community Volunteer Events: fully guided, one-hour experiences that bring employees together for good. No prep. No planning. Just show up and make a difference.

This September, on the very first day of Hispanic Heritage Month, Percent Pledge hosted a virtual volunteer event unlike any other. 123 employees from 46 companies spent one hour documenting Latinx cultural and historical landmarks on HistoryPin. Sites of cultural significance. Decades of community history. Placed on a map, preserved, and shared.

It was a meaningful and engaging experience. I enjoyed contributing to the preservation and sharing of stories that highlight Latinx heritage and community history. The activity was easy to participate in and made me feel connected to a larger purpose.
_{Nadia, Hunter Industries}

Here is a look at what happened, and what your team can take away from it.

Why Companies Celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month by Volunteering

Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15, and September 15 carries its own significance. It marks the anniversary of independence for Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. For many Latin American communities in the US, it is a day of deep cultural pride.

It is also a moment when many companies want to show up for their Latinx employees and communities in a real way, not just with a Slack message or an email.

By participating in this event, companies were able to:

• Give employees a hands-on way to celebrate and preserve Latinx history.
• Build a permanent, public resource that documents cultural sites across the country and beyond.
• Deliver a remote-friendly, zero-lift experience for ERGs, distributed teams, and employees of any background.
• Contribute to an archive that will be viewed and used well beyond Hispanic Heritage Month.

For HR and People leaders, this kind of programming goes beyond recognition. It creates something real.

What Are Virtual Volunteer Opportunities? Guide and Examples

Best Remote Volunteer Opportunities for Teams

Inside the Hispanic Heritage Month Volunteer Event

On September 15, 2026, 123 employees from 46 companies logged onto Zoom at 1:00 PM ET. They joined from 17 US states, Washington D.C., and from Germany, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, and Canada. Six countries. Three continents.

Joel Pollick, CEO of Percent Pledge, shared a real-time map of where everyone was calling in from in the event chat. The room reacted with hearts.

The event opened with a live trivia segment on Hispanic Heritage Month history. Volunteers guessed what percentage of the US population is Hispanic. They named Latin American countries and notable figures. Then Mick Alpert, Percent Pledge's event facilitator, asked about a famous Hispanic artist.

The chat erupted with one word: Bad Bunny.

Then came the work.

Using HistoryPin, volunteers identified and documented Latinx cultural and historical sites. Family-owned restaurants. Nonprofit organizations. Cultural centers and galleries. Historic murals. Educational institutions. Sites that matter to their communities, pinned to a shared collection that anyone in the world can view.

Really great to dig into some culture. I focused on my own SF area and learned more about my own community.
_{Kerry, Fandom}

Some volunteers discovered sites they had never heard of, in their own cities. Others pinned places they had visited for years without knowing the history behind them. One volunteer asked if she could go to a location in person and take her own photo. The answer: absolutely.

At the midway break, host Mick Alpert named something important. Today is a celebration of culture. It is also a moment to think about what supporting a community looks like beyond Hispanic Heritage Month. Volunteers were encouraged to visit the businesses and sites they pinned throughout the year, to engage with them, to bring people, and to use what they built today as a resource.

What Volunteers Were Building

The HistoryPin collection "Hispanic Heritage Month: Sites of Significance" is not a one-time deliverable. It is a living archive. It existed before this event, contributed to by thousands of people across the globe. Every pin added today becomes part of a permanent record of Latinx cultural history that anyone can access.

Volunteers pinned more than 100 sites during this event. Each one is a data point on a growing map of Latinx heritage in America and around the world.

I love that we are able to identify Hispanic landmarks across the nation all in one place. If vacationing in another state, you can look up places to visit that have been part of Hispanic history in that area.
_{David, Rockwood Capital}

Measurable Outcomes from One Hour of Virtual Volunteering

The results speak for themselves:

• 123 volunteers participated.
• 46 companies represented.
• 100+ Latinx cultural sites documented and pinned (the number will keep growing)
• 6 countries: USA, Germany, Spain, Mexico, Colombia, Canada.
• 3 continents: North America, Europe, South America.
• 17 US states and Washington D.C. represented.
• 93% of post-event survey respondents said they would recommend this event to a friend or colleague.

Every pin is a piece of Latinx history that is now visible, searchable, and preserved.

Volunteer Voices: The Real Impact

Numbers tell one side of the story. The lived experience tells another. 93% of post-event survey respondents said they would recommend this event to a friend or colleague. Here is what they said:

• "I liked that the HistoryPin project allowed volunteers to help document and preserve important cultural stories and historical memories. It was a unique way to celebrate Latinx Heritage Month while supporting community engagement and increasing awareness of diverse experiences and contributions." - Nadia, Hunter Industries
• "I hadn't heard of HistoryPin prior to signing up for this, and will continue to recommend it to people." - Selena, Great Minds
• "Great to volunteer in one hour, from my work desk." - David, Kellogg's
• "I enjoyed the session. It was great seeing people call in from different countries for a similar cause." - Brianna, CBRE
• "Easy to collaborate and well organized." - Efraim, Equinix
• "I liked being able to pin Hispanic cultural events near me for others to view and share." - Princess, Marsh
• "It was great to see so many Latinx/Hispanic colleagues sharing their experiences in the US." - Carolina, Marsh
• "Great experience. Thank you! Learned more about things I already loved." - Kerry, Fandom
• "Thank you very much. I enjoyed the trivia." - Nicole, Selene Finance
• "Thanks everyone! This was a great event!" - Daniel, Zeta Global
• "Thank you so much for everything! This was a great opportunity." - Veronica, Integral Ad Science
• "Thank you — love volunteering with you all!" - Danielle, WorldStrides
• "This was GREAT! Thank you so much!" - Margarita, Rockwood Capital

One of the most telling moments of the event came at the end. A first-time participant from CBRE sent a direct message asking how to sign up for future events. She had just finished her first Community Volunteer Event. She wanted to come back for every one left in the year.

Save Your Spot: Upcoming Community Volunteer Events

Percent Pledge hosts free, one-hour virtual volunteer events every month, each tied to a cause holiday or heritage month. Here is what is coming up next:

• October: Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• November: Veterans Day
• November: World Kindness Day

One hour. 100% virtual. No prep required. Free to join for employees, teams, and ERGs. Space is limited.

See All Upcoming Community Volunteer Events

Why Community Volunteer Events Are Unique

Percent Pledge hosts Community Volunteer Events every month, each tied to a Heritage Month or Cause Holiday. Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at work, or any cause month on the calendar, has never been easier.

Unlike traditional volunteer programs that require weeks of coordination, Community Volunteer Events are:

• Ready-made: Pre-designed and fully facilitated. Zero planning from your team.
• Virtual and scalable: Employees join from anywhere. Perfect for remote, hybrid, and globally distributed teams.
• Built for ERGs: Ideal for Employee Resource Groups, Business Resource Groups, and Affinity Groups. A natural fit for heritage month programming and engaging Latinx and Hispanic ERGs.
• Consistent: Events run every six weeks, giving employees a regular cadence of opportunities to give back.

For HR, People, and CSR leaders, this model removes your biggest pain point: the time it takes to organize volunteer opportunities for employees.

Learn more about Community Volunteer Events

Why Companies Choose Percent Pledge

HR and CSR leaders consistently highlight the same benefits when they use Percent Pledge's corporate volunteering platform and Community Volunteer Events:

• Built-in facilitation and logistics. No vendor meetings. No extra work for your team.
• Easy scheduling that fits into one hour.
• Scalable participation across teams and time zones.
• Measurable outcomes ready to share with employees, ERGs, and leadership.
• Strong alignment with DEI initiatives, ERG programming, and cause holidays.

For People Ops, DEI, and CSR leaders, Community Volunteer Events deliver maximum engagement with minimal effort.

Learn how our platform simplifies corporate giving and volunteering

One Hour of Volunteering Can Help Preserve a Culture

This Hispanic Heritage Month event proved something simple: one hour matters.

For employees, it was a chance to learn, explore, and add something permanent to a record of Latinx history. For companies, it was a zero-lift volunteer opportunity that created real cultural value. For the Latinx community, every pin is a site of significance made more visible.

The HistoryPin collection will still be there next year. And the year after that.

Want to bring this to your team?

• Get a live demo of Percent Pledge's volunteer management platform.
• Join the next Community Volunteer Event and experience the impact firsthand.

Get your team giving back. One hour can make an impact.