Last Friday, BSA held its second annual Global Day of Service, where we encourage BSA team members around the world to take time out of their workday to volunteer at local organizations. This year, nine of our offices participated and it has been incredibly rewarding to see their acts of service.
This year, I joined our Brussels office at the Rafaël Center, an intercultural community based in Brussels that provides for the care, reception, integration, and education of immigrants and others in need. We helped their small team unload trucks of food donated by schools and other institutions, and sort and pack food bags. We then distributed the food to needy families in the housing complex and around the area.
BSA headquarters in Washington, DC visited the Humane Rescue Alliance, a shelter serving the DC area that provides all forms of care for all animals and advocates for animal rights. The team started off by making tennis ball toys and catnip socks. They then got to meet some of the dogs, read to cats, and gush at newborn beagle puppies. The DC office raised over $1,300 to sponsor 10 cats and dogs, which will go toward care and will waive all adoption fees for those animals.
The BSA Singapore team (and some family members!) spent their Global Day of Service at the iconic Gardens by the Bay, a national garden that showcases flora from all parts of the world and supports environmental sustainability efforts. The group helped prune, dig, and plant to maintain the gardens’ beauty.
BSA’s Beijing office helped collect, clean, and organize bikes for ride sharing organizations ofo and Mobike.
Country Manager Venkatesh Krishnamoorthy, based in New Delhi, India, volunteered at Sahapedia, an organization that digitizes examples of India’s unique art, culture, and heritage.
Our team in Japan spent their day at Second Harvest Japan, a food bank based in Tokyo. The organization helps tackle the problem of food waste by taking food that would otherwise be thrown out due to damaged packaging, overstocking, or approaching expiration dates and redistributes it to orphanages, women’s shelters, and homeless shelters. The food bank also runs a soup kitchen every Saturday and our team joined other volunteers in helping prepare those meals.
Over in Munich, Germany, Senior Director Georg Herrnleben helped clean kennels at an animal shelter, and was awarded a walk with this adorable dog, Tais.
Program Coordinator Bartek Witucki in our Warsaw, Poland office donated his day to Twoja Sprawa (Your Case) Association’s legal team to help combat the distribution of child pornography.
Last but not least, BSA’s London team volunteered with Wide Horizons, a London-based charity that works with schools to set up educational programs in the countryside, especially for children in low-income and congested areas of the city. The team helped upgrade the charity’s Forest School area by building firewood storage sheds, ring-fencing an area for habitat regeneration, rejuvenating the camp fire areas, painting signs, and creating “fairy doors” for children to discover the woods.
Thanks to all who gave back to their communities!
