Braze Gives Back this Holiday Season

December is here, and the holiday season is in full swing. Each year, Braze emphasizes the importance of giving back by hosting over a week of virtual, in-office, and in-person volunteer activities. This year, over 260 employees volunteered over 350 hours to, among other things, work in soup kitchens, pack hygiene kits, and wrap presents to better the communities where Braze employees live and work every day.

Here’s a short roundup of activities:

Packing Hygiene Kits: Outside of food, water, and shelter, hygiene products are one of the most essential needs for people who experience homelessness. That’s why employees across our Austin, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and London offices gathered to pack over 1100 total hygiene kits, including toothpaste, soap, and shampoo for nonprofits dedicated to ending homelessness and hunger including The Bowery Mission, Caritas of Austin, United Way of Metro Chicago, Whitechapel Mission, and Project Open Hand.

Prepping Meals: Austin office employees rolled their sleeves up to prepare lunches at the Caritas of Austin community kitchen.

Gift wrapping: "Weihnachten im Schuhkarton," which means "Christmas in a shoebox," is an organization that collects, manages, and transfers shoe boxes packed with gifts for children in need. In our Berlin office, employees worked together to pack a whopping 3000 boxes, which will reach 3000 children worldwide.

Shipping Medical Supplies: In Denver, employees volunteered with nonprofit Project C.U.R.E., whose mission is to address the staggering shortage of medical resources across the world. They gathered to sort and pack sensitive medical equipment for shipment, load containers, and stock inventory.

Bringing Cheer to Seniors: Many of us are lucky enough to be surrounded by family and friends during the holidays, but for many seniors this isn’t always the case. Employees from our Singapore office visited the Thye Hua Kwan Nursing Home and participated in several activities to make the residents’ holidays a bit brighter. This included making Christmas decorations, playing a game of Bingo, and celebrating birthdays for seniors born in December.

Assisting the Visually-Impaired: Remote employees volunteered with Be My Eyes, a nonprofit that connects people needing sighted support with volunteers and companies through live video around the world. Through the app, volunteers answered 68 calls to help individuals with a variety of everyday tasks, such as matching blouses to shorts, starting their washing machines, reading ingredient labels, matching socks, and even helping one user sign up for a virtual coding program.

As we move into the holiday season, we are incredibly thankful for the efforts of our employees, customers, and partners in making a difference in the lives of underrepresented and underserved communities. We also recognize that there are still significant global challenges that we must all come together to address, from economic disparities, to racial inequality, to climate change. We are committed to bringing the strength of our people, our technology, and our time to be a positive force.