Community Development

More people today are living as refugees or displaced persons than at any time since the end of World War II1 and many of those seeking asylum are from the LGBTQ2+ community. In more than 70 countries around the world LGBTQ2+ people are facing extreme violence and persecution.2 They are looking for hope and a safe place to call home.

North America is one of the most diverse regions globally, but is this reflected in its arts? Arts and culture capture the spirit of the time and communities. They help bring people together by sparking conversations, raising awareness on important and relevant issues, and fostering a sense of belonging as viewers relate to the story behind a piece.

Known as "the people's marathon", over 10,000 participants lined up at the start line for one of the seven running events this weekend at the Scotiabank Blue Nose Marathon, raising over $500,000 as part of the Scotiabank Charity Challenge.

This past weekend, The Walt Disney Company kicked off its annual Disney Toy Delivery, a part of the Disney Team of Heroes philanthropic initiative, at AdventHealth for Children in Orlando, Florida. Tim Allen, the voice of Buzz Lightyear, and Tom Hanks, the voice of Woody, from the upcoming film Toy Story 4 were present and helped to bring some joy to the patients at AdventHealth for Children by distributing toys to kids and families. Patients also were pleasantly surprised with photo opportunities with Toy Story characters and toy giveaways.

Wells Fargo is evolving its philanthropic strategy to help solve three pressing issues affecting individuals, families, and underserved communities across the U.S. — housing affordability, financial health, and small business growth — the company announced June 5.

The Company, through its business and the Wells Fargo Foundation, will use its resources and expertise to develop new ideas and implement solutions in communities of need in collaboration with public- and private-sector organizations. In particular, Wells Fargo will commit $1 billion in philanthropy alone through 2025 to address the U.S. housing affordability crisis, including homelessness, available and affordable rentals, transitional housing and home ownership.

At Koch, we believe in everyone’s ability to become a lifelong learner and succeed while helping others. Through these virtuous cycles of mutual benefit, we have seen first-hand how people can improve their lives and help those around them do the same. That’s why Koch Industries, along with the Charles Koch Foundation, is supporting the Hispanic Scholarship Fund’s new Entrepreneurship Summit in 2019 and 2020. Scholars selected for the four-day, experiential conference will learn how to apply an entrepreneurial mindset to improve their lives and to chart a course for success in all they do.

More than 100 Arrow Electronics employees in the company’s Centennial, Colo. headquarters participated in the Junior Achievement Bowl-A-Thon to raise money for the nonprofit’s outreach to Colorado youth. The employees raised enough funds to sponsor educational programming for 250 students. Junior Achievement Rocky Mountain, Inc. will reach over 100,000 students this year, teaching them invaluable life lessons in financial literacy, career readiness and entrepreneurship at no cost thanks to corporate partners like Arrow.

As part of its corporate commitment to sustainability, Tetra Tech joined the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, which supports UN efforts to end extreme poverty, fight inequality, and address climate change.

Moya Elementary School in Southwest Phoenix has a new community garden and soccer field plus other improvements thanks to Rebuilding Together Valley of the Sun and 150 volunteers from Republic Services.