Goals and progress
Community investment | Celebrating our volunteers
We believe it’s important to recognize the act of service. While recognition is not the driving reason our employees volunteer, we believe it’s one of the factors that sustains their community involvement. Their stories of good work also inspire volunteerism among others, widening the circle and driving further sustainability.
Just as we offer our employees a range of programs to support their community involvement, we also recognize and reward their efforts in many ways. Recognition can be something as personal as a “thank you” note from one of our senior executives or a company-wide article on GapWeb, our internal website. We also recognize our employees’ desire to do more for the community with two annual awards: Community Corps and the Founders’ Award.
Community Corps
Each year, through our Community Corps program, we offer approximately 50 employees the opportunity to build a house in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. Employees submit applications detailing their history of community involvement and are selected through a competitive review process.
Since 2000, hundreds of our employees have worked on Community Corps builds in the U.S., Asia and Central America. In 2008, employees helped build houses in New Orleans and Guatemala to support areas devastated by natural disasters. “Life-changing” is how many of our employees describe these trips, which also change the lives of those who receive the opportunity of affordable home ownership.
Founders’ Award
In tribute to the philanthropic spirit of Gap Inc. founders Doris and Don Fisher, the annual Founders’ Award provides grants of up to $50,000 — and as much as 80 hours of paid time off — to employees working to create change in their communities through involvement, innovation and impact.
Award applicants and winners provide a window into the work that Gap Inc. employees are doing on some of the most important issues of our time: health care, education, the environment and economic development. This is one of the most coveted awards in our company. Each year, the winner and finalists inspire new ideas and passion among our employees for creating social change.
Founders’ Award Recipients
2007
Gap Passion Team — Nancy Chan, Angeline Ho, Carina Hui, Patrick Lam, Carmen Ka Man Lau, Ivy Lau, Annie Ma, Andrew Poon, and Josephine Wong
The team developed an e-mentoring program for Summerbridge Hong Kong, a nonprofit organization. The website provides education opportunities to children from low-income families.
2008
Team FSA — Amy Solliday, Paul Adams and Eric Severson
The team partnered with Family Services Agency of San Francisco to contribute to an innovative pilot program focused on providing early diagnosis and cutting-edge treatment of schizophrenia for teens and young adults.
