To celebrate the global launch of Windows 10, Microsoft executives flocked to Downtown Bellevue and employees scattered across King County on Wednesday to volunteer in several dozen community service projects, including four in Bellevue.

The company partnered with the Seattle Foundation and United Way of King County for “Upgrade You World” day. Altogether, nearly 2,000 Microsoft employees volunteered at various nonprofits in the area.

“Typically, Microsoft would have an internal celebration and end up tossing an engineering leader in the lake of its Redmond campus,” said spokesperson Randy Hurlow. “However, on this important day they decided to do something different.”

Employees volunteered at four Bellevue nonprofits on Wednesday, including Jubilee REACH, Humane Society Pet Food Bank, Helping Hands for the Disabled and Kindering Center.

The volunteer day was also the kick-off event for a new year-long initiative that will recognize people and organizations making a difference in the community and around the world. Nine organizations, including the Special Olympics, Code.org, and the Malala Fund, will receive funding from a total $10 million allotment. A 10th organization will be chosen through crowdsourcing to receive funding.

Microsoft executives joined customers at a launch event at the Microsoft store in Bellevue Square. Chief Marketing Officer Chris Capossela said the launch was indicative of the “new Microsoft.”

“The new Microsoft is far more focused on customers, like the millions that helped shape the way Windows 10 turned out,” he said. “We even went back and changed the mission statement of the company. It’s very symbolic, but it’s now in the psyche of what we do.”