VML Perth rolls up its sleeves at Foodbank for Worldwide Foundation Day

VML Perth has rolled up its sleeves for the agency’s annual Worldwide Foundation Day, with the team volunteering at Foodbank to support schools, charities and families in need.

The Perth office came together with Foodbank, sorting, packing and distributing essential food and grocery relief.

It was one of six VML offices across Australia and New Zealand to take part in this year’s Foundation Day, themed ‘Good Grows’, which saw VMLers in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland and Wellington give their time, skills and resources to causes spanning food security, community gardens, health, homelessness and social inclusion.

The ANZ activities formed part of VML’s 22nd annual Worldwide Foundation Day, which brought together more than 26,000 employees across 55+ markets globally for the advertising industry’s largest synchronised corporate impact day.

Says Paul Bradbury, CEO, VML ANZ: “Foundation Day is one of those days that really shows what VML is about. Across Australia and New Zealand, our teams found very different ways to contribute. ‘Good Grows’ is a simple idea, but you can see it in action across every one of our offices: people giving their time to organisations doing important work in the communities we’re part of.”

Elsewhere in Australia, Sydney VMLers also volunteered with Foodbank, while another team supported the Rev Bill Crews Foundation by preparing and serving meals and packing food parcels. In Melbourne, the team volunteered with Fight Cancer Foundation, helping maintain accommodation for patients and families who travel long distances for cancer treatment. Sydney and Melbourne staff also donated blood through Australian Red Cross Lifeblood and worked on a creative and website brief for the Choir of Hard Knocks. Brisbane headed outdoors to Green Thumb Farm, a not-for-profit educational community farm.

In New Zealand, Auckland volunteers joined Whau River Catchment Trust to plant native trees, donated blood through New Zealand Blood Service and ran a food drive for Auckland City Mission, while the Wellington office spent the day at Innermost Gardens, a multicultural community permaculture garden.

Says Jon Cook, Global CEO, VML and WPP Creative: “Every year, I’m inspired by joining more than 26,000 VMLers around the world to step up for the communities we call home. It’s a powerful reminder that our impact isn’t limited to the work we do for clients – it’s in the lives we touch and the causes we champion together.”

VML Worldwide Foundation Day has brought employees together to support their local communities since 2005.