Timberland Global Stewards Initiative Sparks Conversation at National Conference on Volunteering and Service
Last week, global outdoor lifestyle brand Timberland joined nonprofit, government, business and civic leaders from around the world at the Points of Light National Conference on Volunteering and Service. At the 2016 conference, Timberland shared how Service Unites its own employees through the company’s Global Stewards program. Atlanta McIlwraith, Timberland’s senior manager of community engagement and communication, spoke on the “More and Better: Scaling Employee Volunteering” panel and shared how the brand built its employee engagement program for an impassioned global community, serving more than one million volunteer hours to-date.
Alongside leaders from service-driven brands like Groupon and IBM, McIlwraith spoke to a capacity crowd of business track attendees who had questions and positive comments about Timberland’s Global Stewards program.
“I was inspired to see how the topic of the Global Stewards continues to spark conversation and ideas a decade after the program’s launch,” said McIlwraith. “The Stewards address a common challenge among global companies of how to increase the scale and impact of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts around the world. This win-win program delivers great value to Timberland as well as the stewards themselves. Timberland gains locally relevant tactics to support global strategies while the Stewards benefit from leadership training, increased recognition from senior leaders throughout the organization and of course, the great uniforms (which they designed themselves) and gifts they receive rewarding their efforts.”
Timberland’s Global Stewards have the opportunity to volunteer for a two-year term, above and beyond their regular job responsibilities, to drive service and CSR around the world. As many expand their responsible business practices, Timberland is happy to offer its recipe for success to help others scale their efforts globally. To learn more about how Timberland is making a difference in terms of its products, the outdoors and the communities it serves, visit: https://www.timberland.com/responsibility.html.
