Since 2005, VMLY&R has held an agency-wide community service called Foundation Day. Every VMLY&R office across the globe, including those in Australia and New Zealand ceases normal business operations for a day to give back to local communities.

This year’s Foundation Day was held on September 24. Given the various restrictions in different parts of the world as well as in AUNZ, this year’s Worldwide Foundation Day included a range of different activities with nearly 7,000 VMLY&R employees undertaking work both in-person, and virtually. In fact, VMLY&R Worldwide Foundation Day was the most extensive and impactful to date. Thanks to the current remote working environment, employees are more spread out more than usual — so more local communities benefitted from Foundation Day efforts. Additionally, employees were encouraged to involve family members.

In AUNZ, VMLY&R partnered with Act for Kids, Clean up Australia, Lively, and Melanoma NZ among many other causes in a mix of on-site and remote community service.

Brisbane – El Berridge, Ingrid Postle and Yuji Sekiya create a mural painting for the children at Act for Kids in Wooloowin [north Brisbane].

Sydney – Aisling Fitzpatrick cleans up Bondi Beach in partnership with Clean Up Australia.

Jon Bird, VMLY&R chief executive officer Australia/NZ, Jon Bird, commented, “I’m proud of the work our team put in this VMLY&R Foundation Day as part of a global effort with 7,000 people across 75 locations. We did it all under the theme of “individual acts of kindness” and in Australia and New Zealand, we undertook a wide range of activities from giving blood, to giving back virtually for not-for-profits, cleaning up Bondi Beach for Clean Up Australia and even knitting up a storm with beanies for Miracle Babies. COVID changed things this year so there was lots of virtual volunteering, but it also allowed us to cover more bases and make more of a difference.

“2020 has been challenging in so many ways. It’s more important than ever to give back,” stated Jon Cook, VMLY&R chief executive officer. “Through thousands of individual acts of kindness, VMLY&R employees around the world will do whatever they can to make their community stronger. One of our core values is ‘abundantly generous,’ and Foundation Day wonderfully embodies that spirit.”

VMLY&R Auckland works with the Melanoma New Zealand team in a concept brainstorming session for future campaigns on melanoma prevention.

Brisbane – Chelsea Parks assists in some outdoor landscaping clean-up on behalf of Act for Kids in Wooloowin [north Brisbane].

This year’s theme for VMLY&R Worldwide Foundation Day was Together As One, highlighting the collective impact of all employees rolling up their sleeves to give back in meaningful ways over the same 24-hour period. To visualise the global impact, the agency created a microsite where employees can post photos from the day and celebrate all the charitable efforts.

“Employees have self-selected a charitable project or used the agency’s Foundation Day resource guide to identify a worthy cause to support,” noted John Mulvihill, VMLY&R Foundation executive director. “With so much separation this year, Foundation Day is a wonderful communal experience while helping countless non-profit organisations and worthy causes.”

Cover image: Sydney – Jade Hickey, Alan Patterson, Zac Kraemer, Jon Bird and and August Lantay-Lefkovich virtually volunteer with Vollie, to build a Social Media Strategy for Lively, a not-for-profit organisation and home care provider.

Find out more about the VMLY&R Foundation here.