In celebration of its one-year anniversary, VMLY&R will close all 82 offices across the globe on Thursday, Sept. 26, to give more than 6,500 employees the opportunity to support their local communities through volunteer projects.This year’s theme for VMLY&R’s Worldwide Foundation Day is “Connecting Hearts, We Are One,” which highlights the collective impact of all employees rolling up their sleeves to give back in meaningful ways over the same 24-hour period.“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate VMLY&R’s one-year anniversary as a unified force than by giving back in the communities that foster our success,” said Jon Cook, VMLY&R global CEO. “One of our core values is ‘abundantly generous,’ and Foundation Day wonderfully embodies that spirit. Our employees select the community partners we work with on Foundation Day, and volunteer project leads handle all of the planning, so we maximize our collective efforts.”WPP announced VMLY&R on Sept. 26, 2018, uniting two leading brands to deliver a contemporary, fully integrated digital and creative offering to clients on a global scale. In its first year, VMLY&R has focused on agency leadership, client partnerships, and business development, and has added new clients to its global portfolio. VMLY&R was also awarded 31 Cannes Lions at the 2019 festival, including two Grand Prix. “The VMLY&R Foundation is a unique thread that unites the agency’s global network in a charitable, collaborative and fulfilling way,” said John Mulvihill, executive director of the VMLY&R Foundation. “VMLY&R’s ongoing commitment to charitable service — which manifests itself in volunteerism, pro bono work and community leadership positions — is present in all VMLY&R offices around the globe.”VMLY&R Worldwide Foundation Day is a signature program of the agency’s corporate giving foundation. The VMLY&R Foundation, created in 2005 as an employee-funded and employee-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, recently surpassed $2.2 million in charitable donations. More than 50% of U.S.-based VMLY&R employees contribute to the VMLY&R Foundation fund through payroll deduction.This year, VMLY&R employees will donate their time and talents to dozens of nonprofit and community organizations, including:VMLY&R Atlanta — Piedmont Park Conservatory and Trees AtlantaVMLY&R Chicago — Special Spaces room renovation for children facing life-threatening diseases, Chicago Canine Rescue, All Stars Project, IMD Guest House, Lakeview Pantry, Lincoln Park Conservatory, Read/Write Library, Working Bikes, Surfrider Foundation and the Chicago Park DistrictVMLY&R Cincinnati — Boys & Girls Club of Greater Cincinnati VMLY&R Dallas — North Texas Food Bank, Metrocrest Services and National Breast Cancer FoundationVMLY&R Detroit — Focus Hope, assisting the elderlyVMLY&R Kalamazoo — First Day Shoe Fund and Kalamazoo Valley River TrailVMLY&R Kansas City — Bridging the Gap, Community Linc, Cultivate KC, Habitat for Humanity, Happy Bottoms, Harvesters Food Bank, Heart to Heart International, Loose Park Rose Society, Newhouse Women’s Shelter, Pawsabilities, Union Hill Cemetery, Veteran’s Community Project, Wayside Waifs, Young Women on the Move, and mural projects around the cityVMLY&R Memphis — FedExFamilyHouse at Le Bonheur Children's HospitalVMLY&R Miami — Hobie Beach and Bill Baggs Cape Florida beach cleanupVMLY&R Minneapolis — Habitat for HumanityVMLY&R Nashville — Nashville Humane Society and Project C.U.R.E.VMLY&R New Jersey — Morris County Park Commission’s GardenWorks programVMLY&R New York — Citymeals on Wheels, Partnerships for Parks in Brooklyn and Surfrider Foundation VMLY&R Rogers — Assisting a local teaching farm to help kids understand the importance of healthy nutrition, painting classrooms at a local children’s shelter and sorting donations at Potter’s House ThriftVMLY&R San Francisco — St. Anthony's Free Clothing ProgramVMLY&R Seattle — Lifelong, Farmer Frog and PAWS animal shelterVMLY&R Washington, D.C. — Capital Area Food BankGlobal OfficesVMLY&R Aukland — Partnering with Aukland City Mission and skill sharing to help Rasnz tackle public prejudices against immigrants in New ZealandVMLY&R Buenos Aires — Yes Foundation, promoting the social inclusion of the most vulnerable sectors of ArgentinaVMLY&R Bogotá — Spending the day helping a local public school, “Altos de Cazucá,” with a variety of projects and activities with the studentsVMLY&R Brisbane — Communify beautification efforts supporting housing efforts for those in needVMLY&R Budapest — Cleaning an old river at the Hungarian Open Air MuseumVML Brazil — Partnering with pro bono client the District Attorney’s Office of São Paulo promoting Brazilian citizenshipY&R Brazil — Planting trees and renovating a community center nearby the officeVMLY&R China — Grassroots environmental effort to collect plastic bottles from the street and turn them into holiday décor VMLY&R Dubai — The Dubai Foundation for Women and ChildrenVMLY&R India — Visiting a homeless shelter supporting at-risk youth VMLY&R Indonesia — Partnering with a local orphanage to help abandoned children VMLY&R Istanbul — Spending the day outside with various environmental effortsVMLY&R Italy — World Wildlife Fund plastic cleanup initiativeVMLY&R Lisbon — Partnering with local NGO AMI, which amplifies ongoing cause campaignsVMLY&R London — Living Under One Sun community center beautification projectsVMLY&R Madrid — Red Cross Spain, renovating sport spaces in the cityVMLY&R Malaysia — Kechara Soup Kitchen cookingVMLY&R Mexico City — Cleaning of El Madin Dam VMLY&R Paris — Cleaning the Seine river with Surfrider FoundationVMLY&R Peru — beautifying a local girls orphanage and hosting a cinema night on siteVMLY&R Philippines — “EcoDrop” stations to turn excess holiday shopping packaging into public school furnitureVMLY&R Prague — Creating a campaign for a local NGO, Člověk v tísni, celebrating 30 years since the Velvet RevolutionVMLY&R Puerto Rico — Helping Corazón Azul renovate a new building to support those with severe autismVMLY&R Poland (Warsaw and Krakow) — Working with Shelterstock, an animal welfare grassroots effort promoting adoptionsVMLY&R Russia — Recycling bottle caps to help raise awareness and funds for disabled childrenVMLY&R Singapore — Spending the day at three locations: NTUC Nursing Home, a local animal shelter and a community hospital doing rooftop gardeningVMLY&R South Africa (Cape Town and Johannesburg) — Working with NOAH Project, Soweto school projects, Xchange Connexion, Underdog Project and Ladles of LoveVMLY&R Sydney — Partnering with Clean Up Australia, the Salvation Army, Wesley Mission, and the local food bankVMLY&R Thailand — Partnering with Adopt Me Thailand to increase dog adoptions in the regionVMLY&R Vienna — Charitable community fundraising event at a traditional Viennese Würstelstand benefitting a local organizationVMLY&R Wellington — Helping InsideOUT with a new campaign to support young people of the LGBTQ+ community Follow VMLY&R’s Foundation Day activities with our hashtag #WeAreVMLYR....Read More Share This Story