When Don and Doris Fisher opened the first Gap store on Ocean Avenue in 1969, they brought an energetic new idealism to the city of San Francisco – and ultimately, the world – that has shaped culture for the last 55 years. As Gap Inc. President and CEO Richard Dickson shared through our renewed commitments to San Francisco, there are many gaps that we are eager to bridge right here in our hometown – and we’re championing San Francisco’s revitalization by imagining better, then engaging others to do better, with actions that matter.
Here is an update on our progress from the past quarter.
Energizing Historic Downtown San Francisco:
When we are together, we are more creative, collaborative and foster a greater sense of belonging amongst our teams – which is why we are creating inspiring work environments in our offices and providing employees meaningful connection moments within the city.
As a sponsor of Downtown First Thursdays (DFT), a monthly street party hosted in Downtown San Francisco, we are designing employee experiences that allow us to show up for our city as a collective community. To kick-off Pride month, we hosted a Hub gathering where the Denim Divas, Gap Inc.’s very own employee drag troupe, led our employees to DFT to continue the celebrations with attendees from all around the city, bringing the Gap Inc. energy to the streets. Proudly celebrating the best of who we are enables our teams to show up as their most authentic selves and helps bridge gaps within our own community.
Volunteering Time and Resources to Amplify Community Impact:
Giving back to the communities where we operate is core to our heritage. Today, Gap Inc. is in a unique position to make a bigger impact – and we are committed to directing the focus of Gap Foundation to charities that operate in San Francisco. This quarter, we proudly awarded a $250,000 grant to support programming for Glide Foundation – a San Francisco-based non-profit dedicated to breaking the cycles of poverty and marginalization – that has been one of our key volunteer partners in the Bay Area for over 20 years.
We are excited to continue supporting their mission as we work with local partners to double our employee volunteer hours, while creating moments where employees can engage with each other and local San Franciscans in need of assistance. Each Wednesday, Gap Inc. employees are staffing shifts at Glide Foundation’s Daily Free Meals, a program that helps serve over 2,000 meals per day to people experiencing food insecurity. Since kicking off in early July, the teams have already logged nearly 150 hours.
Also this quarter, we joined four San Francisco companies – Levi Strauss, Wells Fargo, Visa, and JP Morgan Chase – to launch the Downtown Volunteer Coalition (DVC), a partnership formed to collaborate on efforts that support a cleaner and more vibrant city. During the first organized event, Gap Inc. employees rolled up their sleeves and worked alongside 250 volunteers from across the community to clean up parks and streets.
Last week, we welcomed Mayor Breed to tour our renovated headquarters building, hear about this progress and see the inspiring spaces we’ve created. We talked with her about ideas to foster more creativity and innovation in the city to make it a destination of choice for top talent and tourists alike.
San Francisco is woven throughout the fabric of our heritage – it made us who we are. Now – as a house of iconic American brands that shape culture – Gap Inc. is defining a new era for the company and what it means to work in this great city. There is much work to be done, but we’re excited about the progress we’ve made and the journey ahead. We are committed to making a difference, and we’re just getting started.