More than 1,000 employees join 40+ Blue Wave projects nationwide, working alongside nonprofit partners to make a lasting difference.

More than 1,000 GE Appliances employees are rolling up their sleeves across the country today for the company's fifth annual Blue Wave, working alongside nonprofit partners on more than 40 volunteer projects in the communities where they live and work.

The projects range from helping organizations that feed families and support education to making neighborhoods safer, stronger and more accessible. But Blue Wave is about more than a day of volunteering. It's an opportunity for employees to put the same skills, creativity and problem-solving abilities they use at work toward making a difference in their communities.

As America's Most Invested Appliance Company, GE Appliances has committed $6.5 billion to U.S. manufacturing since 2016 alone. That investment goes beyond factories and equipment to the people and communities that make the company's work possible.

Putting employee skills to work in the community

Across the country, GE Appliances employees are working with nonprofits to tackle challenges, support important programs and find new ways to help their organizations serve more people.

In Louisville, approximately 100 employee volunteers are supporting South Louisville Community Ministries as the nonprofit prepares to expand into a new space at Beechmont Social Club. Teams are helping with landscaping, exterior maintenance and interior improvements.

It's the latest chapter in a longstanding relationship. GE Appliances employees previously helped renovate the organization's original building and are now working alongside the nonprofit as its needs grow.

Other projects are drawing on employees' expertise in technology, manufacturing and design.

Helping the American Red Cross reach more families.

Marcia Brey, vice president of Logistics at GE Appliances and a longtime Red Cross volunteer, developed a digital scheduling tool using AI-enabled technology to support the organization's Sound the Alarm initiative. The application, now being piloted in Louisville, helps connect residents who need smoke alarms with volunteers who can install them. The goal is to develop an approach that could eventually help other communities.

Introducing more people to manufacturing. 

GE Appliances' Latin Roots Employee Resource Group and Manufacturing Ambassadors from Appliance Park are working with Catholic Charities of Louisville to create a hands-on assembly line experience. Participants will get a closer look at modern manufacturing and the people and skills behind it.

Making everyday experiences more accessible.

Employees from GE Appliances' industrial design and other teams are supporting The Dot Experience at the American Printing House, a new Louisville museum focused on inclusion and accessibility. Their work includes preparing appliance displays featuring accessible design and connected technology, including the GE Appliances Access Kit, developed with the American Printing House to help people identify appliance controls by touch.

These projects reflect a simple idea: When employees bring their experience and ideas together with organizations that know their communities best, they can find better ways to solve problems.

More than a day of volunteering

Blue Wave began in 2021 and has grown into a companywide commitment to year-round volunteerism and stronger community partnerships.

"Blue Wave has never been about showing up for one day, checking a box and moving on," said Katina Whitlock, senior director of People, Culture and Community Engagement at GE Appliances and executive director of the Good Things, For Life Foundation. "Our strongest partnerships are built year-round. Our nonprofit partners know their communities, and our employees bring incredibly diverse skills in engineering, technology, manufacturing, design, logistics and problem-solving."

The company's Good Things, For Life Foundation supports partnerships focused on education, workforce development, helping families meet basic needs and building stronger communities.

For GE Appliances, the same culture that drives employees to find better ways to make appliances also shapes how they work alongside the people and organizations in their communities.

"Zero distance is about getting close to people, listening to what they need and then working together to find a better way," said Kevin Nolan, CEO of GE Appliances. "Our employees are problem solvers. When they bring that same creativity, expertise and energy to our community partners, we can do more than complete a project for a day. We can help create solutions that have the potential to make a lasting difference."

Investing where we live and work

Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, GE Appliances employs 15,500 people nationwide and operates Appliance Park, America's Largest Home Appliance Manufacturing Site.

As the company continues its historic investments in American manufacturing, Blue Wave shows another side of that commitment: investing in the communities its employees call home.

From manufacturing plants to nonprofit organizations and neighborhood projects, GE Appliances employees are bringing the company's We Come Together commitment to life.

It's one more way GE Appliances is making good things, for life.

See how we show up for the places we call home: