Making an impact together

At URW, we put people at the heart of what we do, and we’re committed to having a positive impact on the communities everywhere we operate. So, each spring, as part of our Community Days initiative, our staff volunteer their time to a huge range of good causes.

From improving environmental ecosystems to further enabling local employment, supporting vulnerable populations and providing access to educational and cultural activities, our teams’ contributions fostered positive change, showcasing our dedication to thriving communities.

Here are some of the projects that we participated in for our 2024 Community Days.

1. In our Southern Europe region, French staff took part in an Impact Odyssey, addressing over 1,000 social and environmental challenges. Their collective efforts led to 20 outreach sessions with the homeless, the collection of 85 hygiene kits for those in need and contributions to a species census. In Spain, the teams worked with Fundación A La Par to organise a horse-riding event for local people living with disabilities.

2. In Northern Europe, the team in Sweden collaborated with Solna Stad and the United Soul association, to prepare the Blue Hill Block Party, a community event in a disadvantaged suburb. More than 3,500 locals attended the party, helping to build social cohesion. In Denmark, our teams partnered with Folkebevægelsen mod Ensomhed and Salling Group to host a talk on the impact of loneliness and a convivial 6 km neighbourhood walk. Volunteers in the Netherlands worked at a local food bank, improved a garden at a youth institution and built beehives on the roof of the Amstelveen shopping centre to support urban biodiversity.

3. In Central Europe, part of our German team worked with the Rhine Clean up initiative to combat river and ocean pollution while others partnered with Tafel Oberhausen, an NGO that provides affordable food to 3,000 disadvantages individuals each week. In Poland, volunteers renovated a shelter for homeless women and a psychiatric day-rehabilitation unit, and in Austria staff members worked with Samariter Suppentopf to cook for those in need. Volunteers in the Czech Republic beautified a centre for the visually impaired and Chodov Senior's House, and teams in Slovakia worked with the DePaul charity to prepare meals for the homeless.

4. At Westfield Stratford City in the UK, volunteers with The Felix Project distributed meals across Stratford, with a focus on Newham's high child poverty rates. Westfield London hosted an after-school session for young people at WEST Youth Zone and our Croydon volunteers supported the Legacy Youth Zone with activities including a football match, craft and T-shirt design and dance sessions. The UK team also sponsored the Cut It Out Community Football Tournament, designed to raise awareness about knife crime.

5. Activities in the US saw volunteers partnering with Baby2Baby to sort and package essential items such as clothing, hygiene products and toys to support families in need. Other teams worked at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, which provides services to over 35,000 members of the LGBTQ community.

The URW Community Days are a chance for our teams to give back to their communities and work at the frontline, where services are needed most. But community initiatives and volunteering go on throughout the year at URW, delivering on our commitment to act responsibly as agents of positive change wherever we do business.

In addition to involving all our employees in meaningful volunteering programmes, we’ve also committed to supporting 15,000 people annually through training, social inclusion and employment opportunities. With detailed Community Resilience Action Plans, our asset teams are focused throughout the year on achieving this target.

Learn more about our commitment to building thriving communities.