This year has been difficult for many, but as we eagerly await for better, healthier days to come, we want to take this holiday season to reflect back on the many things we’re grateful for in an especially challenging time. 

It’s when uncertainty strikes that we as people rely even more heavily on our values to anchor us. One of the key tenets of Liferay is investing in the communities around us through our time and hearts. Each employee gets hours to volunteer every year through our Employee Volunteer Program (EVP). This year only reminded us of how foundational this belief is to our team.

Committing to our Communities

On our long list of things to be grateful for, we are particularly thankful to be surrounded by individuals who continue to be dedicated to the mission of “investing in communities” in order to “make it possible for people to reach their full potential to serve others.”

With most in-person activities being closed or limited, volunteer opportunities have required more creativity in 2020. However, in the typical fashion of resilient Liferayers, our people have not let the additional complexities of what service looks like change their determination to be stewards of goodness in the world. 

Early in the year when the pandemic hit, many of our team members were using their EVP hours to help buy groceries for their eldery, volunteer at local food banks, and sew face masks. As needs and opportunities for service have grown, so too have Liferayers’ creativity in meeting those needs.

Finding New Ways to Serve 

Whether virtual or masked up, our teams around the world have been engaged in different opportunities to help and give back to their communities. 

Our Dublin office had a step challenge to raise money for the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital that was heavily affected by COVID-19. The team walked almost 3 million steps in just a month, which is close to walking the length of Ireland 5 times! 

Additionally, they leveraged the power of Zoom to host a virtual bingo session where participating employees donated to Pieta, an Irish charity based in Dublin that provides free therapy to those engaging in self-harm and suicidal ideation. 

Down under, a few of our Australian team members have participated in the Great Cycle Challenge to raise money and awareness to fight cancer for kids. To date, they’ve ridden over 3,500 kilometers (that’s over 2,000 miles for our American friends)! They even used their EVP hours to take an entire day off to ride. 

A few members of our Australian team all geared up to ride for charity.  

Back in our Los Angeles office, a few team members volunteered their time to partner with Olive Crest’s Be the Miracle program to buy and wrap gifts for children in the welfare system so that they could have a present to open during the holidays.

Wrapping gifts for children in the welfare system in our Los Angeles office. 

Continuing our partnership with the InDaHouse Foundation, our Hungary team members have been working together with the foundation to help kids living in poverty by building a community center and school, donating supplies, and volunteering to spend time with them. We are humbled to have had our Hungarian office recently awarded the Best Cooperation Award Between NGOs and Companies based on this partnership. 

Proudly holding the Best Partnership Between NGOs and Companies award our Hungary office recieved. 

More than Giving

While it has been a difficult year for so many people and businesses, we are amazed at the generosity and resilience that human beings have. Despite the challenges this year has brought, we are thankful that our team members have had even greater convictions to use their time and resources to help their communities. We hope that this value of humility and service will continue to drive our organization, in a pandemic and beyond.