To celebrate the holiday season and the year end, our employees embarked on a “Lam Cares” campaign to give back to our local communities. Through the campaign, nearly 1,500 staff from around the world contributed to volunteering more than 900 hours, sorting more than 1,000 pounds of food, and donating nearly 3,000 items, including more than 1,300 toys. Additionally, thanks in part to the generosity of the Lam Employee Gift Match program, more than $480,000 was donated to charitable causes and organizations.
Below are some examples of how we demonstrated that “Lam Cares” during the 2015 holiday season. We hope this may inspire you to give back not only during the holidays, but throughout the year.
Making the Holiday Special to a Child in Need
No child should feel forgotten during the holidays and so employees from many offices participated in toy drives. In Asia, we collected, wrapped, and distributed approximately 250 gifts to children in Taiwan, Singapore, and Korea. In Europe, we collected toys and clothes for children in orphanages and refugee children. As a special treat in Italy, the gifts were presented by a magician during his performance at an orphanage on Christmas Eve. In the San Francisco Bay Area, we sorted, wrapped, and prepared gifts for distribution for children in partnership with The Family Giving Tree, an organization that works with local schools and nonprofits to collect the names and wishes of in-need children and mobilizes to fulfill those wishes.
Helping Senior Citizens Through the Holidays
The needs of our communities’ senior citizens can sometimes get overlooked during the rush of the holiday season. At our Fremont, CA, facility, we partnered with the City of Fremont’s Human Services Department to identify elders in need, then purchased and wrapped gifts from their wish lists. Despite having their own financial challenges, many of these deserving recipients regularly volunteer their time to help other seniors in the community.
Distributing Warm Coats
According to the non-profit One Warm Coat, even a 2-degree drop in body temperature results in reduced heart rate, loss of coordination, and confusion. For most, a warm coat solves the problem, but for the nearly 15% of Americans living in poverty, a warm winter coat is a budget “extra.” In California, we collected coats to be distributed by One Warm Coat, an organization dedicated to providing anyone in need with a warm coat, free of charge. In conjunction with the coat drive, employees also collected toys for children.
Providing Pedals to the People
The Community Cycling Center in Portland, OR, believes that a bicycle is a tool for empowerment and that everyone deserves the opportunity to choose active and healthy transportation regardless of income, education, or background. Employees in our Oregon offices volunteered at the Center’s annual Holiday Bike Drive, during which the organization provided ˜300 children with safe refurbished bicycles, new helmets, and basic safety education.
Volunteering for Our Furry Friends
We didn’t want to forget our furry friends during this holiday season. We volunteered at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley, a facility that provides adoptions, medicine, training programs, and pet care services. In addition to giving the animals some personal attention, employees helped with tasks like blanket-making and laundry and ended the day with a play date at the dog park.
