The holiday season is a time to give generously and want not, for the greatest gift is that which expresses thanks – to our families, to our friends and to organizations and causes that we care about the most.
But regardless of the gift – whether material goods, time or money – it’s important to remember that gratitude and support knows no season and there are many creative ways to provide all kinds of support to those in need.
We can make a major impact through financial support, but also through in-kind donations, pro bono services and active engagement. It’s a priority for us to give back in as many ways as we can. It’s also one of the many reasons that we’re proud to be part of the Public Relations Global Network, a collection of firms like ours that share this mindset.
We’re always inspired by many ways our affiliates from around the world contribute locally – from healthcare to human rights, arts to education – and hope you will be, too. Here’s an example of the good deeds of our PRGN partners, both here in the United States and abroad.
- Cleveland: Stevens Strategic Communications supports numerous organizations that serve the developmentally delayed, including Hopewell Therapeutic Farm.
- Raleigh-Durham, NC: S&A Communications works closely with the National Ataxia Foundation to help raise national awareness of this little known and often misunderstood condition.
- Vienna, Austria: asoluto supports the local foreign language literacy project “Who I Am,” program that offers children access to quality literature and conversation in their native language besides learning German.
- Paris: We agency supports Unis-Cité, a French association inspired by AmeriCorps that has made civil service a right for French boys and girls.
- Singapore: Mileage drives efforts to improve the financial welfare of needy students and explores ways to improve the quality of education.
- Malaysia: Perspective Strategies worked with the Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO) on a Workplace Discrimination Survey to educate women about their options and lobby policymakers on the Gender Equality Act for Malaysia.
- San Francisco: Landis Communications Inc. supports the work of Human Rights Watch and volunteers at Project Open Hand.
- Washington, DC: Xenophon provides pro bono service to Airlink, a humanitarian relief organization that connects disaster response agencies with airline partners.
- Phoenix: HMA Public Relations gave each staff member 35 one-dollar bills to “commit random acts of kindness” in celebration of the agency’s 35th
- Argentina: Indentia PR supports numerous social justice causes, including Patronato de la infancia (Padelai), which helps children in vulnerable situations.
- Nashville: Since 2015, Reed Public Relations has used a portion of their profits to send its employees on mission and volunteer trips to help individuals in need at home and abroad.
- Los Angeles: The Hoyt Organization supports ACE Mentoring, a program that creates mentorships between recognized leaders in the architecture, construction and engineering fields with high school students.
- Minnesota: Evans Larson provides financial and/or strategic business and communications counsel for various organizations, including the Washburn Center for Children, Retrieve a Golden of the Midwest, Animal Humane Society of Minnesota and Dress for Success Twin Cities.
- Miami: The Conroy Martinez Group has organized and publicized a 5k fundraiser for Cancer Free Kids for 10 years.
- Australia: Currie Communications donated five percent of the firm’s consulting time in 2017 to nonprofit partners in support of asylum seekers in Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
- Dubai: THE CONTENT FACTORY has supported an amateur youth football (soccer) team for the past eight years by operating the team’s social media and website, securing sponsors and recruiting talented players pursuing university scholarships.
- Poland: Multi Communications commits to helping an animal shelter every year by organizing the collection of money and essential pet items such as blankets and animal feed.
- Bucharest, Romania: Free Communication works closely with nonprofits that focus on healthcare, including an organization that helps support cancer treatment facilities for children.
- Belgium: Athenora Consulting focuses its efforts on developing schools and healthcare centers in third world countries.
- Dallas: Three Box Strategic Communications supports Communities in Schools Dallas Region (CISDR), a nonprofit agency focused on removing barriers that interfere with student performance.
As we look toward 2018, all of us here at Castle are excited to continue to give back to the community we call home. In addition to growing our award-winning relationship with WriteBoston, a program that helps Boston Public School students hone their writing skills, we also continue our longstanding support of the March of Dimes, Center for Women & Enterprise, and Family Reach Foundation, and WGBH.
We’re grateful for the ability and the opportunity to give – in every sense of the word.
