As we approach the end of 2020, there’s no better time to reflect and appreciate all we have in our lives. It’s been a challenging year for so many, which is why we‘re grateful to be part of a team supporting those in need.
At RingCentral UK, we’re continually thinking about how to give back to our communities. Throughout the year, we run initiatives to raise awareness of the issues and causes most important to us.
Here’s a look at the exciting programme of activities going on this December.
Tuesday 1st December marked Rock the Ribbon World Aids Day. This awareness day unites people worldwide in the fight against HIV and commemorates those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. We showed our support by displaying a virtual red ribbon, wearing black for our virtual office meeting and donating money to the campaign. RingCentral will match all donations we make when we text REDRIBBON to 70085.
We also kicked off our first ever reverse advent calendar this December. The premise is simple: on each day of the month we’ll announce an item internally, and those taking part will add this to a box. Once we fill our boxes to the brim on 24th December, we’ll donate them to all of our local Trussell Trust Food Banks. This is just one of the charitable activities we run for local causes. A group of volunteers also spends time helping the Ealing Soup Kitchen. On top of this, Professional Services project manager Jane Symonds set up an incredible initiative to ensure we regularly donate items to the Ealing Food Bank and support the amazing people that run this branch.
We’re also running a Giving Tree initiative for 2020, with an online twist. Rather than selecting a decorative tag from a tree in person, we’ll choose the gifts we wish to donate through the Giving Tree shop. KidsOut arranges the collection of gifts to distribute to children in local refuges. Many of these children have escaped domestic violence. Without a Giving Tree, these children may not otherwise receive a gift at Christmas.
We’d never miss the chance to show off our silly Christmas jumpers in aid of Save the Children. On Friday 11th December, the team will be taking part and donating to the charity that makes such a difference to the lives of children worldwide.
Anyone who wishes to participate can text TEAMRCUK2020 to 70050, which donates £2 to Save the Children. The money will help the organisation change children’s lives in different countries around the world through things like food and essential supplies, healthcare and psychosocial support, education programmes and early learning centres.
Finally, just before Thanksgiving, our RingCentral community joined for a world relay run – something we call the ‘Turkey Trot.’ We’ve got one more relay planned to finish the year. Our Santa Run will be taking place on 17th December and we’ll be donating to our employees’ favourite charities.
We arrange these seasonal activities to help our communities and create a feeling of togetherness. I can’t wait to see the positive effect this has on all our colleagues, and the sense of fulfilment giving back brings. We’re inspired by all the giving done by RingCentral employees in the UK, and really in all our locations around the world. We wish everyone an amazing holiday season and let’s keep the giving spirit alive into the 2021!
Originally published Dec 08, 2020, updated Dec 30, 2022
