Goals and progress
Community investment | Employees: Our strongest asset
Of all our company assets, none is more valuable than our more than 134,000 employees. Our work in the community would not be possible without them.
In our headquarter locations, more than 100 community leaders volunteer to organize company-sponsored service events and act as ambassadors for our work in the company and community. Each of our stores — or in some cases districts — also has a community leader, expanding our team of leaders to 2,000 employees. Through this team and the commitment of all our employees, Gap Inc. makes significant daily contributions to our communities.
Karen Baker, Secretary of Service & Volunteering for the State of California, says that the era when volunteering was just “a nice thing to do” is over. "The health of many of our social services depends on the involvement of the private sector in a systemic, strategic way," she says. "Gap Inc. is helping to lead the charge, directing the many skills of its workforce toward creating social change. Volunteering has always been a positive, but now companies like Gap Inc. are poised to make a much deeper impact."
By volunteering their time, talent and commitment to local nonprofits, our employees make diverse contributions. Their volunteer efforts include tutoring young people in Chicago, providing legal services to a youth organization in Oakland, raising money for AIDS programs in Canada, providing advice for women returning to the workforce in New York, painting the walls of a youth-serving nonprofit in France, and cleaning up beaches in Japan, among many others. Over the past two years, we’ve expanded our employees’ volunteer opportunities through a wide range of programs.
We see a direct connection between our employees’ volunteerism and their commitment to Gap Inc. Engaged employees deliver strong business results, which is good for the community and our company. In a 2007 employee survey, nearly all respondents said it is important for them to work for a company that invests in the community. Studies also show that when a person is emotionally connected to a cause, giving is related to positive emotions and personal happiness. The bottom line: volunteering makes people happy, and happy people make better employees.*
“I volunteer because I understand how lucky I am to have a secure and fulfilling job that affords me things like food, transportation and a home,” says Kim Gauthier, Old Navy district manager. "Particularly in this economy, there are many people who don’t have life’s necessities, and it is important to give if you have the means to do so.”
When describing the benefits of skills-based volunteerism, Kathleen Kirkish, a Human Resources director in our online division, says: “My involvement with this program has provided an incredible opportunity to expand my knowledge of the development needs of grantees. I’ve been able to significantly extend my professional network and apply my expertise in leadership development in building a program that increases capacity of nonprofit leaders to impact the communities they serve.”
Becca Finn, a communications specialist for Banana Republic, involves herself in the community in a variety of ways, including opportunities through Gap Foundation. “Through different programs, I have been able to work with various nonprofits throughout the year,” she says. “Most of these projects are just once a year, but have become a part of my life, and I continue to volunteer with each organization throughout the year and as the need arises.”
Robert Gill, a Gap Inc. college recruiting and immigration coordinator, has been involved in his community as long as he can remember. “I’ve always believed that it is each person’s responsibility to try and create positive change around them if at all possible,” he says.
*The Happiness of Giving: The Time-Ask Effect. Aaker & Liu, 2008
