By: Erica Shipley, Global Community Manager
April 22, 2024
Earlier this year, at our company-wide kickoff event, Engage, CEO, Timothy Chi closed out the event by saying, “let’s make humility and kindness our differentiator.” This quote stood out to me because it shows that when you work at The Knot Worldwide, we know that what we do matters, and this ethos is sewn into the patchwork of everyday life as an employee, regardless of your work. It’s how we set the stage for the year and what we keep in mind day in and day out.
I’m grateful that, as TKWW’s Global Community Manager, I get to work with employees worldwide as we cultivate community through shared interests, create opportunities for appreciation, and, of course, give back to our communities.
One of the projects that I have the distinct honor of overseeing is Global Donate, a program that allows our employees to take time off work to give back to their communities with fellow coworkers. This initiative is not just about us; it’s about serving the communities where we work and live. It’s an opportunity to take our core values out into the world through volunteerism. Employees have the opportunity to take time out of their work day to volunteer in person or virtually.
With the help of many stakeholders around the world, we spend months setting up volunteering opportunities for our employees in over 40 cities. We are incredibly intentional about choosing causes that ladder up to our mission and vision as a company, while also being good partners and stewards to these local organizations. On a personal note, nothing has made me a prouder TKWW employee than seeing over 30 TKWW colleagues volunteering with Special Olympics District of Columbia last year, an organization I’m personally very involved with.
We design Global Donate with an incredibly flexible approach, meaning employees are also welcome to volunteer with organizations that are more personal to them. We fully acknowledge that supporting the causes that matter most to our employees is a critical piece of Donate, and we know that no matter where an employee is located or how they’re participating, the spirit of giving back will be felt across our 14 countries.
This year, our in-person volunteering includes returning to some of our favorite organizations, such as Rose Haven in Portland, OR, Rock Creek Conservancy in Washington, DC and CAAD Maresme in Barcelona, ES. We’re also expanding our efforts to new areas of the world with new volunteering opportunities, including Ferme Habitat Solidaire Toulouse in Toulouse, FR, Tilth Alliance in Seattle, WA, the Hackney Foodbank in London, UK, and many more.
This will be my fourth year overseeing Global Donate for TKWW, and each year leaves me amazed at what our employees are capable of. They are both incredibly intelligent and skilled at their jobs while caring about the world around them. What we do really does matter, and our employees are the true example of that. I can’t wait to see another year of this event come to fruition.