1 April 2026
The world is a better place when people and communities come together. At Illumina, we’re committed to creating a purpose-driven workplace and propelling collective impact. Corporate Responsibility (CR) is woven into our culture: from how we welcome and engage our employees, to our giving and volunteer efforts, to our partnerships with local organizations. We empower our employees to give back and be a catalyst for change in their communities, and our people show up with purpose—and their compassion helps create lasting change.
In 2019, we set an ambitious goal: reach 100,000 volunteer hours and achieve 50% employee participation in our Illumina Cares programs by 2030. We aimed high and our employees showed up beyond expectations. Our employees didn’t just rise to the challenge, they exceeded it—surpassing 100,000 hours four years early. To date, they’ve completed a total of 116,125 hours, donating 23,000 hours of service in 2024 and 24,755 hours in 2025. And for the last three years, participation in giving and volunteer programs has consistently topped 50%—proof that when we show up together, we don’t just meet goals, we elevate what’s possible.
“It’s critical for us to build relationships within the communities where we live and work,” says Vanessa Light, associate director of CR at Illumina. “We partner with organizations to amplify their impact, which aligns with Illumina’s mission of improving health. The camaraderie and passion our people bring to volunteering and creating impact is something we’re incredibly proud of.”
In honor of Global Volunteer Month, we’re recognizing how our employees make a difference around the globe. Whether it’s a single act of service, a small contribution to an important cause, or a long-term volunteer commitment, volunteers play a vital role in strengthening their community. Because when people step up—individually or together—their actions can inspire others and ignite a movement that changes the world. Here are just a few of the ways that our company and our employees have put volunteerism into action and have made an impact over the past year.
A key focus area of our Illumina Cares program is improving genomic literacy through Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education. In 2019, we set a goal of reaching 5 million STEM learners by 2030, and since then we’ve engaged with over two million STEM learners through in-house STEM bootcamps, guided student tours, science festivals, and curriculum development. One example is our long-standing support of the San Diego Festival of Science and Engineering, in which we have participated for 15 years and sponsored for 10 years. This year, a core team of fifteen employees volunteered their time to plan the event, and over eighty employees volunteered at the event to ensure it was a memorable experience for the community.
At the festival we offer hands-on learning activities like pipetting, fermentation, and exploring fossil traits. One of our events this year was a CO2-powered car race. “We have two cars, each powered by a different strain of yeast that have small changes in their DNA. One is bread yeast which creates CO2 quickly, and the other is beer yeast which ferments slowly, and we ask people which they think will be faster,” says Jason Button, a staff product manager at Illumina. “Since we can’t see the yeast producing the CO2, the visualization of a car racing down a table helps people understand what is happening at a microscopic level.” Activities such as this allow our community’s youth to play while also learning about genetics, chemistry, and engineering—inspiring the next generation of scientists.
Service without borders
In addition to STEM, our employees volunteer for organizations that support cancer patients, help the environment, and give back to their local community. They have packed care kits for cancer patients with the Emilio Nares Foundation, helped with meal service at various Ronald McDonald House locations around the world, volunteered at local food banks, and participated in beach cleanups.
That same spirit of service extends globally, with employees showing up for their communities worldwide. In France, 84% of our employees came together for a 5k walk/run in support of the “Steps Against Cancer” campaign. And in the United Kingdom, employees came together at the Cambridge Dragon Boat Festival to raise over £40,000 for the new Cancer Research Hospital at Cambridge Biomedical Campus. In Berlin, we partnered with Ronald McDonald House, where employees assembled 150 welcome packs for families with seriously ill children receiving treatment at nearby hospitals. And in the Netherlands, employees volunteered at the BioArt Village in Eindhoven, where they helped renovate the historic German bunker houses.
“It was a beautiful opportunity to give back to the community, connect with one another, and support a space that fosters innovation and creativity,” says Hedwig Visscher, a staff sales operations analyst and Illumina Cares Ambassador at Illumina Netherlands. “We’re proud to have been part of it.”
In Singapore, close to seventy employees participated in the Relay for Life, where they continued to run overnight until the event closed as a show of solidarity for those affected by cancer—running a total of 162 kilometers over twelve hours and surpassing the 100-kilometer goal. They raised close to $6,300 for the Singapore Cancer Society.
“I joined nearly 70 Illumina colleagues at the Singapore Cancer Society’s Relay for Life for an inspiring night on the track,” said Nilesh Shah, head of region for APAC at Illumina. “We came together for a cause bigger than our individual selves.”
And in Japan, employees and their families participated in the Fujisawa Beach Clean Up, where they collected over ten bags of trash and recorded each item to help scientists and advocates identify the amount of ocean trash at a global scale.
During Global Volunteer Month, we thank our Illumina employees around the world for giving their time, energy, and heart to their communities. They show up with purpose, lead with compassion, and help create a brighter future.
