Every year, Levi Strauss & Co. employees demonstrate their values and commitment to the betterment of their communities by contributing their time and resources to causes close to their hearts. 2023, however, was truly exceptional.
This past year was a testament to our employees’ desire to connect and their dedication to making an impact in their communities by donating their time. In 2023, employees around the world stepped up to volunteer in high numbers, marking LS&Co.’s highest count of employee volunteers in a single year. Employees put in the work too, clocking more than 20,000 volunteer hours — an increase of 4,000 hours from 2022.
But they didn’t stop there. Employees also donated over $1 million dollars to over 1,200 organizations.
“2023 truly was an amazing year,” said Javier Torres, Community Affairs manager. “We witnessed a surge in teams actively engaging with the community, despite juggling business priorities and numerous company milestones as well as grappling with an array of natural disasters. Their commitment to volunteering highlighted the impact even the smallest contributions can make on our community.”
Here’s a look at some of the ways employees gave back this past year.
Community Day 2023
Amid commemorating our 170th anniversary as a company and the milestone 150th anniversary of the iconic 501® jean, our 23rd annual Community Day in May was the perfect moment to celebrate another momentous day in our company’s history and give back to our communities around the globe. This event brought thousands of employees together across 117 projects worldwide, resulting in the greatest volunteer story ever told.
Teams in Dhaka, Kuala Lumpur, Paris, Prague and London dedicated their time to prepare and distribute meals, catering to seniors, students and communities grappling with hunger. In the North Europe region, employees gathered for 17 volunteer activations, including an HIV prevention project in Brussels that the team has participated in for 18 years in a row.
In the U.S., the Beyond Yoga® team made their mark on their inaugural Community Day by assembling hygiene kits with the Westside Food Bank in Los Angeles. In San Francisco, nearly 750 employees participated in volunteer activities supporting 24 organizations, from hosting upcycling workshops for students and beautifying the Bayview district to creating inclusive spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community.
These tireless efforts resulted in a staggering 10,860 volunteer hours and $220,000 in grants to nonprofits from the Levi Strauss Foundation. Additionally, employees showcased their commitment to our profits-through-principles mentality by contributing over $160,000 in less than two weeks to organizations worldwide as part of a special 501® Day giving campaign.
Supporting Our Hometown
Later in the year, as part of our commitment to help revitalize San Francisco, employees at our global headquarters in San Francisco came together to “adopt” a block of the city’s Tenderloin district — an area still reeling from the pandemic’s effects as local businesses struggle to recover. Over the course of the summer, they worked to revitalize the Phoenix Hotel corner by preparing for a new fence and community mural.
As recently highlighted in the San Francisco Chronicle, this work is already making a difference for the businesses on the block and in the broader community.
Employees Give Back in Time — and Dollars
Employees around the world exemplified the power of collective action by coming together to address the needs of local communities. Our global employee resource groups (ERGs) like SAWUBONA (our Black ERG in Europe) and C.A.R.E. (parents ERG) took proactive steps to help communities from London to Henderson, Nevada. Project Onyx (our Black and African American ERG in the U.S.) also did their part by putting together holiday gifts for clients from Little Brothers — Friends of the Elderly in San Francisco.
Beyond their time, our employees exhibited their generosity by donating over $1 million throughout the year to 1,253 community organizations, including The Red Tab Foundation, Doctors Without Borders, San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, Direct Relief, World Wildlife Fund and the Homeless Prenatal Program. They were quick to step up to donate in times of disaster, like the earthquake in Turkey and Syria and the fires in Maui.
Thank you to every employee who helped make such a remarkable impact in 2023!
