Through listening sessions, service events, donations, and social media messages, brand helps support LGBTQ+ youth in the US and Europe
SOURCE: Timberland
DESCRIPTION:
Since its inception in 1999, June has been recognized as PRIDE Month, a time to raise awareness for and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. This June, Timberland recognized the month through a variety of events and opportunities for employees and consumers to learn more about how they can support the LGBTQ+ community.
At the brand’s global headquarters in Stratham, NH employees used their paid community service hours to support Seacoast Outright, an organization that provides advocacy and support for LGBTQ+ Youth in the Seacoast area of NH. Through a virtual service event, employee volunteers from across the U.S. researched and created a social media content library to help Seacoast Outright educate, inform, and inspire the broader community about its mission. Categories for posts included People, Events, Police/Law, Symbology, and more.
The lack of support and resources for members of the LGBTQ+ community can prevent them from forming positive connections with others and often hinders progress toward a fully inclusive community. Founded in 1991, Seacoast Outright aims to fill this gap and enable and empower LGBTQ+ youth to make the social connections they need to thrive. Hershey Hirschkop, Executive Director of Seacoast Outright, said of the event, “Seacoast Outright is thrilled to partner with Timberland on this great project for our PRIDE month and is especially excited to see a company which engages their employees to promote inclusivity in our community. Creating a catalogue of social media posts related to LGBTQ+ history, culture, and events is not just a research and art project, but one where we all learn from each other.”
Timberland also demonstrated support for LGBTQ+ advocacy by amplifying the voices of the movement in other regions. The brand recently connected with Tanya Compas, founder of Exist Loudly, a London-based organization that provides queer Black youth with a space for joy and community, space to find chosen family, and space to explore their identify. Tanya will use Timberland’s social media platforms to share her message and the stories of the community directly with Timberland followers. Timberland also made a monetary donation to support the “Digital Storytelling” of Black LGBTQ+ youth who will use mediums of videography, photography, illustration, and graphic design to share their stories.
Timberland and its employees have a long heritage of serving communities around the globe where they live, work, and explore, and this commitment to service does not end when the hashtags stop trending. Timberland will continue to build partnerships with purposeful organizations and changemakers and will host additional service events in the coming months to pursue a greener and more equitable future.
A team of Timberland volunteers celebrated PRIDE month through a virtual service event. The volunteers created a social media content library for a Seacoast Outright, an organization local to the brand’s global headquarters in New Hampshire, that offers advocacy and support for LGTBQ+ youth. The event was one of several brand activations to raise awareness and support the LGTBQ+ community worldwide.
KEYWORDS: NYSE:VFC, VF Corp., Timberland, Pride, LGBTQ+
