Next month, Levi Strauss & Co. employees around the world will step away from their desks for a day to give back to their communities. We call it Community Day. And this year we expect employees to participate in more than 160 volunteer activities.
In Japan, one LS&Co. team will spend the day on the beach—working, though, not playing. On Unzipped today, we introduce you to a colleague in our Japan office, Miho Takatani. That’s her and her team in the picture above, taken on last year’s Community Day. As we learned in our interview, the team will return to the same beach—Kanagawa—this year.
Unzipped: What’s your role and how long have you been with the company?
Miho Takatani:I’m an executive secretary and also help with communications. I joined Levi Strauss Japan just after the Great East Japan earthquake on March 11, 2011.
What’s the name of the organization you are working with this Community Day?
My team and I will be working with the Kanagawa Beach Beautification Foundation. The foundation was founded in 1991 and aims for beautification along the beach’s 150 kilometer natural coast.
Tell us a little bit about the work that volunteers will be doing.
Our team will be cleaning up the Kanagawa Beach. This is a very good opportunity to remind us the importance of keeping our earth clean!
What’s the best thing about serving as a Community Day Ambassador?
Being able to help raise awareness about what makes our company special—our heritage, values and legacy of giving back. It’s challenging and exciting to choose volunteer activities that make our Levi Strauss Japan employees happy and motivated! It’s a special day when employees take time away from work and support our local communities together.
How are you exemplifying “sustainable reuse” on this Community Day?
Our office puts value on doing on-going or sustainable volunteer activity—we believe continuity is power. We’ve been working with this non-profit for four years, helping clean the Kanagawa Beach. We are committed to making this beach better and better each year.
