Tag: 3BL

The Vital Voices Global Fellowship will bring together women leaders from across sectors to build skills and capacity, foster a collaborative network, and exchange ideas. In addition to learning successful leadership practices both from experts and each other, in its inaugural year, Vital Voices is offering programming across two pillars – social entrepreneurship and political leadership. Fellows will engage in focused learning on sector-specific skills and knowledge and with changemakers relevant to their industries. Through the fellowship, Vital Voices also aims to create opportunities for cross-issue collaboration and harness the collective creative potential of women leaders working on critical challenges disproportionately affecting women and girls.

FedEx is proud to be a platinum sponsor of the Vital Voices Global Fellowship – Social Entrepreneurship Pillar, which empowers visionary women changemakers leading for-profit, purpose-driven enterprises that are addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Social Entrepreneurship pillar is tailored for women entrepreneurs who understand their business valuation, have identified their business growth strategy, are interested in expanding their social impact, and are eager to scale their business through investment.

During the fellowship, participants will have the opportunity to attend a weeklong in-person networking, mentorship, and training session at Vital Voices Global Headquarters for Women’s Leadership in Washington, D.C. After the gathering, social entrepreneurship fellows will delve into a tailored curriculum addressing crucial aspects of professional growth, including strategic planning, investment readiness, and effective communication strategies.

The 2024 Vital Voices Global Fellowship – Social Entrepreneurship application is currently open and will be accepting applications until April 15, 2024.

For more details, women entrepreneurs are invited to visit the program webpage and online application. Early applications are strongly encouraged. Vital Voices has include a list of Frequently Asked Questions as well.

About the FedEx and Vital Voices Global Partnership Collaboration:

Vital Voices Global Partnership invests in women leaders solving the world’s greatest challenges. Since 2016, FedEx has supported the Vital Voices (VV) GROW Fellowship, a 10-month virtual program that fosters growth and skills advancement in strategic planning, financial management, marketing and sales, strategic networking, leadership, human resources, and communications to support purpose-driven women entrepreneurs globally in creating a holistic, sustainable foundation for which their vision and impact can grow. The 2023 Vital Voices GROW Fellowship had 92 fellows from 40 countries. Their social entrepreneurship work spanned over 15 industries and touched upon all 17 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Erin Bigley, CFA| Chief Responsibility Officer

From biodiversity and blended finance to a just transition and the cost of drugs, we preview the key ESG issues we’re targeting through research.

It used to seem simple. The early days of responsible investing were mainly characterized by avoidance of so-called sin stocks, such as tobacco. Since then, responsible investing has evolved into a much more sophisticated and robust understanding of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues affecting investment risks and opportunities. Every year seems to bring new insights, as well as new challenges for investors.

At AllianceBernstein, our research agenda aims to bring rigor and clarity to responsible investing. Below are four themes we’re covering closely in 2024 through our research and partnerships. We think investors should pay close attention too.

1. The interconnectedness of all things. 

Responsible investing research must take into account the complexities of relationships, not only within and across intuitively related areas of study—such as the effects of climate change on biodiversity and vice versa—but also between what have historically been viewed as the silos of E, S and G factors.

For instance, climate change is one of the most urgent challenges of our time—one that’s often seen as strictly an environmental concern. But it’s also a human rights issue. Neglecting to account for climate-related modern slavery threats may present material financial risks to investors.

To that end, we’ve recently published research in partnership with Walk Free, an international human rights group, on the intersection of climate change with modern slavery. Our work explores how physical climate risks such as typhoons and droughts make populations more vulnerable to forced migration, human trafficking, forced labor and debt bondage. It also details the tools we’ve developed to help investors assess, disclose and manage climate-related modern slavery risks.

Another area of focus for our ESG research—and another highly complex system that intersects with climate change and involves every kind of ecosystem service—is biodiversity. Investors are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of biodiversity and the urgency of preserving our planet’s natural capital—the stock of natural resources that underpin our economy and society.

One aspect of biodiversity in particular—water—will be at the forefront of investors’ minds, and ours as well, over the next few years as communities, companies and countries cope with risks around water scarcity, water pollution and sustainable water management.

Our research into biodiversity and nature-related financing aims to help investors understand, analyze and manage biodiversity risks and opportunities, as well as get a handle on investing solutions such as so-called debt-for-nature swaps.

These structures require careful evaluation but may help indebted developing countries protect their vulnerable ecosystems. Debt-for-nature swaps are a type of blended finance structure that brings together emerging-market governments, developed-market governments and private investors to lower the cost of financing for the issuer and the credit risk for the investor, and to increase the flow of capital for sustainable investment.

The United Nations Environment Programme estimates that developing countries will need up to US$366 billion annually in adaptation financing such as blended finance structures. Carbon markets, too, are becoming more universally endorsed as a critical step toward decarbonization.

2. Workforce disruption and transformation.

As responsible investing evolves to reflect real-world complexities, our understanding of social factors is also deepening. One such area of focus is transformation of the labor force. We want to understand the implications of aging demographics and deglobalization; the benefits of a more diverse and inclusive workforce; and the impact of disruptive technologies such as generative artificial intelligence (AI).

Generative AI offers tremendous opportunity for investors and for society—for how we work, study and live. But it also comes with significant social risks. For example, AI may accelerate trends in automation; as much as 30% of working hours in the US could be lost to automation by 2030. Generative AI is also an energy hog, owing to its computational power requirements. Companies that help solve this energy conundrum could enable a sustainable future for this burgeoning technology—and create opportunities for investors.

We’re developing insights into how companies can navigate and leverage AI responsibly, as well as how investors can incorporate these considerations into the investment process.

Another workforce issue we’re researching that could have material implications for investors involves a secular shift in the psychological contract between employers and employees, with an increased focus on worker expectations and a rise in collective actions and unionization. This shift in the balance of power between labor and capital goes hand in hand with the decline in working-age populations in many countries and the fragmentation of the labor force via deglobalization.

Lastly, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) is an important consideration for investors and may be a competitive advantage for companies. For instance, there’s growing evidence of a positive correlation between female corporate leadership and corporate performance.

3. Emerging markets in the spotlight. 

Nowhere is the intersection between environmental and social issues more prevalent than in emerging markets, which are occupying a major share of our research efforts. Take, for example, the “just transition,” in which countries transition away from fossil fuels and associated greenhouse gases in a way that avoids disrupting economies and social fabrics.

This is important to investors, because a mismanaged transition may pose serious long-term credit risks for sovereign issuers—through fiscal risks, debt risk, economic deprivation, rising inequality and even potentially civil unrest. And while the just transition is a global subject, these risks are biggest for developing nations. We’ve developed a systematic framework for measuring and monitoring these just-transition risks.

We’ve also developed a framework for assessing emerging-market sovereign sustainability. From an ESG perspective, investing in sovereign emerging-market debt can feel messy. Most investors feel just familiar enough with individual countries to fall prey to subjective judgments when making comparisons. The market tends to overreact to news—good news, bad news and often both at once. And huge, complex data sets bog down analyses and muddy the view.

To solve these problems of subjectivity, reactivity and obscurity, we’ve identified six concrete metrics that help identify potential value and provide guidance for both emerging-market issuers and sustainable investors.

4. The health of humanity.

The COVID-19 pandemic underscored just how critical health is to the world’s economy, as well as to companies and investors. In fact, poor health is estimated to cost the world US$12 trillion a year—equal to about 15% of annual global GDP. As the world’s population climbs toward 10 billion by 2050, access to medicine may become even more challenged. This year, we’re intensifying our research around the cost of medicine and drug pricing.

Pointing Our Research Lens Where It’s Most Needed

While our current research is heavily focused on the issues we’ve described above, we’re also still moving the needle on responsible investing classics such as physical climate risks, governance concerns, sustainable investment technology and more. We look forward to sharing our research with you throughout 2024.

The views expressed herein do not constitute research, investment advice or trade recommendations and do not necessarily represent the views of all AB portfolio-management teams. Views are subject to revision over time.

Learn more about AB’s approach to responsibility here.

CORONA, Calif. /3BL/– Monster Energy is delighted to announce the recipient charities of its $100,000 ‘Beat The Beast’ tournament. The Call of Duty competition, live-streamed on Twitch, brought together gaming enthusiasts and top-notch streamers for a charitable cause.

The Beast Squad dominated the virtual battlefield with a 2-hour stream on each day, showcasing some of Monster Energy’s top streamers, including Atlanta FaZe, Jericho, TeeP, and Rogue. These gaming titans led their squads against challenger squads from the general public in epic Call of Duty showdowns.

Following the tournament’s conclusion, each of the four victorious streamers had the privilege of selecting a favorite charity, which have each now received a check for $25,000 from Monster Energy.

The chosen charities and their respective streamers are:

TeeP: AbleGamersRogue: Doctors Without BordersJericho: American HumaneFaZe: COD Endowment

Additionally, here are some notable statistics from the Beat The Beast Tournament:

Live Views: 2.4 Million +Total Stream Duration: 9.5 hoursMax Concurrent Viewers: 19,000Avg. Concurrent Viewers: 10,000Avg. Unique Viewers/Stream: 433,000Beast Squad Record: 17-10

Viewers tuning in for the action-packed streams witnessed thrilling battles and had the chance to earn exclusive 2XP codes by watching the live broadcasts.

“We’re thrilled with the success of the Monster Energy “Beat the Beast” Call of Duty charity tournament; it was a high-octane spectacle of epic battles and meaningful contributions,” said Monster CMO, Dan McHugh. “This event not only showcased the skill and competitiveness of our top streamers and esports teams, but also emphasized our commitment to supporting impactful charities. We believe that gaming has the power to make a positive change, and this tournament is a testament to that belief.”

This initiative underscores Monster Energy’s dedication to making a positive impact in the world by combining the love for gaming with charitable giving.

Don’t miss the chance to be part of our next exhilarating event and contribute to meaningful causes. Stay tuned for more updates from Monster Energy.

About Monster Energy:

Based in Corona, California, Monster Energy is the leading marketer of energy drinks and alternative beverages. Refusing to acknowledge the traditional, Monster Energy supports the scene and sport. Whether motocross, off-road, NASCAR, MMA, BMX, surf, snowboard, ski, skateboard, eSports or the rock and roll lifestyle, Monster Energy is a brand that believes in authenticity and the core of what its sports, athletes, gamers and musicians represent. More than a drink, it’s the way of life lived by athletes, bands, believers, and fans. See more about Monster Energy including all of its drinks at www.monsterenergy.com.

Media contact:
info@monsterenergy.com

We recently participated in Junior Achievement of the Eastern Shore’s “Inspire” event, which drew over 4,000 8th-grade students across Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The event aimed to introduce students to various career opportunities, where our employees’ provided insights into careers within the utility industry. Students engaged in hands-on activities, such as exploring our drones, practicing line-worker precision and boarding one of our bucket trucks.

We have proudly partnered with Junior Achievement for more than a decade and have positively impacted thousands of local children by fostering financial literacy, entrepreneurial skills and a deeper understanding of the energy industry’s role in the region. This reflects our commitment to delivering more than energy in the communities we serve.

Originally published by TriplePundit

Children’s greatest wishes are coming true in the Chicago suburbs. From family vacations to bedroom makeovers, Autobarn Subaru of Countryside and Make-A-Wish Illinois are helping to create irreplaceable experiences for critically ill children and their families.

“Over the past eight years that Autobarn has worked with Make-A-Wish, the retailer has granted more than 35 wishes for children in the community,” said Richard Fisher, managing partner of Autobarn, a long-time family business. “We’re very lucky to be involved with Subaru and Make-A-Wish. It makes us feel good, too. We’re a local business, and we care about the community and its businesses.”

“They truly understand that a wish is not just a fleeting moment in time, but a journey that provides hope, strength and joy to children when they need it most,” added Stephanie Eckert, corporate gift officer for Make-A-Wish Illinois. “This is the best promise that Subaru and Autobarn Subaru of Countryside can make to the children in our community – that they will be there to ensure their wish journey will be a magical experience of discovery and joy.”

Subaru of America has partnered with Make-A-Wish for the past 12 years as part of the Subaru Love Promise, the company’s commitment to be a positive force in the communities where employees live and work. It’s the largest automotive donor to the Make-A-Wish Foundation and, together with its retailers, Subaru has donated over $32 million to help grant more than 3,300 wishes nationwide.

Autobarn Subaru of Countryside selected Make-A-Wish as its hometown charity through the annual Subaru Share the Love Event. During the annual charitable initiative, which is held between November and January, Subaru and its participating retailers donate at least $250 to a customer’s chosen national or hometown charity for every new vehicle purchase or lease.

“The Share the Love Event with Subaru is something special,” Fisher said. “Together with Subaru, we don’t just say, we do. Subaru really puts its money where its mouth is. And 12 years later, it’s still going strong. It’s not a one-time thing.”

About three dozen Autobarn Subaru of Countryside employees also participated in the Walk for Wishes fundraiser for Make-A-Wish Illinois, along with a host of movie characters that added to the excitement for younger participants. “Our team wanted to get involved personally,” Fisher said. “It’s a feel-good thing … It makes you realize life is special, and you appreciate it more.”

That involvement means something for the dealer, employer and customer, he added. “You feel a part of something that gives back, which is what employees want. It’s not just writing a check and moving on.”

Wish requests vary widely. “People are different about what they want and love,” 
Fisher said. No matter the wish, family reactions are among the most rewarding parts of the program. “Just seeing someone smile — when you see someone who doesn’t have it easy, when you see them able to smile and have a good time, that’s what it comes down to,” Fisher said.

Recipients’ families are celebrated together when the wishes are granted, and after the wishes are fulfilled, families often return to the retailer for a reception.

A trip to her favorite California theme park was one kid’s wish, and they were able to get the support they needed to make it possible. Their daughter uses a wheelchair, has a seizure disorder and a genetic disorder, and is non-verbal. “The family doesn’t have it easy,” Fisher said. “But just to see the family be able to take a break and have a vacation, just seeing the dad and mom sharing such a loving interaction with their daughter [was gratifying].”

One boy wished for his whole bedroom to be remodeled with a new bed, TV monitors and a game console. “If you are 12, that’s your dream to have all the cool stuff,” he said.

“The Autobarn Subaru of Countryside, its owners, employees, and customers truly ‘share the love’ and embrace the power of wish, not just during the holiday season, but throughout the whole year,” the Make-A-Wish Illinois representative said. “We could not be more grateful for the support.”

The team at Autobarn Subaru of Countryside also supports other causes locally. They donate blankets, hats and gloves to local shelters, supports local public schools through volunteering and other projects, and work with the local humane society by sponsoring an adoption event to help dogs find forever homes, during which the retailer covers adoption fees. 

“We try to help any way we can,” Fisher said. “We try and stay as involved as we can. We do it because it’s the right thing to do.”

Fisher encouraged people and corporations to pitch in where they live, too. “I always tell more people to get involved — it’s the most rewarding thing you can do. If you have the means to do so, you should. We’re very focused on what we can do, and whatever it takes to make people happy. If we hadn’t gotten involved, we might not have been able to share in their joy.”

This article series is sponsored by Subaru of America and produced by the TriplePundit editorial team. 

Wearing an all-black ensemble, pearl earrings and high heels, Tylene Swanson’s Facebook profile picture paints a story of a woman who breathes and lives fashion. But that’s only a part of her story.

During her work hours, this soft-spoken, 28-year-old blonde with a captivating smile dons personal protective equipment, steel-toed shoes and a hardhat bearing her name. Swanson proudly serves as a pipeline inspector at Enbridge, ensuring the safe and reliable delivery of natural gas that’s used to heat homes, schools and businesses in the Lower Mainland.

Swanson’s career started in trades a decade ago, after her father introduced her to pipeline work in their hometown of Hardisty, Alberta.

“When I was in Grade 12, I wasn’t entirely sure what I wanted to do. I knew I didn’t want to follow the typical careers for women,” Swanson says. “I ended up working on pipelines with my father, completing my apprenticeship by working on different projects, and then getting my welding certification. Right after welding school, I transitioned into pipeline inspection.”

Swanson is among a small group of female tradeswomen in British Columbia. According to the latest survey by the BC Construction Association, only 4.5% of the province’s 164,000 skilled tradespeople are women.

But Jill of All Trades (JOAT) aims to change that. Since 2014, JOAT has provided hands-on experiences to young women in Grades 9 through 12, introducing them to the possibilities of a career in the trades.

In support of this initiative, Enbridge has partnered with JOAT, donating $125,000 to facilitate the successful delivery of these events. At Enbridge, we strongly believe in a diverse workforce and providing opportunities to women and women-identifying individuals.

On April 4, about 100 female and female-identifying students from the Lower Mainland in BC are joining the BCIT Jill of All Trades all-day event in Burnaby, BC. The event will show participants the multiple opportunities of employment to pursue a career in trades.

“We aim to make skilled trades a viable choice for female high school students who are preparing to make their career decisions,” says Tamara Pongracz, BCIT Trades Access Department Head, who is running the BCIT Jill of All Trades. “BCIT Jill of All Trades offers these students the opportunity to immerse in trades and learn from tradeswomen role models.”

Female students from more than 30 high schools in metro Vancouver, Chilliwack and Hope will get to visit skilled trades stations in areas such as ironworking, sheet metal working and welding, power engineering, plumbing, auto-collision repair, cabinet making, and digital and wireless communications.

They will also get to hear directly from tradeswomen, who will share stories and information about their journey into trades, and the diverse career paths available. Swanson will join this volunteer pool to mentor and inspire young girls.

“Many people wrongly assume the trades industry is a man’s world. But there’s a place for everyone here, and there’s a lot of opportunities. Being in trades is not only empowering, it’s rewarding with lots of opportunities for career growth,” Swanson remarks.

“I never let my career define me, but rather, it has helped me establish the woman I want to be. I’m not sure where I would be today if I decided to take an alternative route, but I am very grateful that this is the path I chose when I was that 18-year-old girl.”

We are proud to announce the Coach (Re)Loved & Repair Workshop located in North Bergen, New Jersey has achieved Gold-level TRUE Zero Waste Certification. TRUE Zero Waste Certification is granted to facilities that have met a certain set of stringent waste reduction requirements. Most critically, TRUE Zero Waste certified facilities must demonstrate that they divert at least 90% of the waste generated from landfills through different channels such as recycling, reuse, repair, composting, and more.

For over 30 years, the Coach (Re)Loved & Repair Workshop operated as our hub for Coach Repair services in North America. In 2021 we launched Coach (Re)Loved, and have since transformed the facility into its headquarters, bringing together specialized craftspeople, designers and sustainability professionals to accelerate Coach’s transition toward a circular economy. The Coach (Re)Loved program includes four key segments – Coach Upcrafted, Coach Remade, Coach Restored and Coach Vintage – that give pre-loved and damaged Coach products a second life. We also have our Coach (Re)Loved Exchange program to enable consumers to trade in eligible pre-loved Coach items for credit so that the cycle can continue for generations more. Since its inception, Coach (Re)Loved has given more than 45,000 products a second life through our four pillars: Upcrafted, Remade, Restored, and Vintage.

TRUE Zero Waste Certification, managed by the US Green Building Council, encourages facilities to rethink their whole systems approach, by transforming the way materials flow through our operations and, as a result, lead to zero waste. The Coach (Re)Loved & Repair Workshop in its nature works to maximize the life of our products and minimize waste wherever possible. As a part of the certification process, we partnered with the sustainability team at Recycled Track Systems (RTS) and established some programs and initiatives at our Workshop, including but not limited to:

Engaged our Workshop employees by establishing a Zero Waste Leaders working group, consisting of 14 employees that are charged with implementing and maintaining our zero waste culture.Diverted over 5 tons of workshop waste and damaged product from landfill through our partnership with ReCircled, which converts these materials into new raw materials.Updated our pantry, by providing reusable utensils and plates to discourage single-use plastics, and added new waste diversion methods for employee waste, such as composting and K-Cup recycling.Invested in a design plotter technology that allowed us to minimize leather waste, drive efficiency and reduce waste significantlyWe’ve continued our annual waste audits and monthly diversion reporting through our partnership with RTS.

Through designing out single-use and pursuing extended-life materials, the Coach (Re)Loved & Repair Workshop has achieved over 95% landfill diversion rate. The TRUE Zero Waste Certification further validates the work we have been doing to advance the circular economy through Coach (Re)Loved.

Tapestry is working toward achieving zero waste at our North America corporate sites, which include our offices and fulfillment centers. We are proud of our achievement at the Coach (Re)Loved & Repair Workshop, and, as a next step, we plan to take these learnings and pursue TRUE Zero Waste Certification at our two fulfillment centers in Jacksonville and Las Vegas.

The Habit Burger Grill on LinkedIn

April is Autism Acceptance Month, and we are proud to partner with Focus Comics for their month-long free military vehicle art program championing autistic kids. At the end of the month in Glendale, Arizona, Focus Comics will hold a graduation event for the students, and present Hero of the Year Awards to eight military and first responder heroes. To celebrate, the Charmobile will roll up to feed superhero kid graduates, their families, and first responders for free!

Helmed by Yvonne Wan, Focus Comics pioneers inclusion with one of the world’s first autistic superheroes. The organization offers free art camps, internships, and publication opportunities for autistic individuals, enhancing their vocational skills and employment prospects. Stay tuned for pictures from the event! Learn more about the organization, here: https://focuscomic.com/

Originally published on GoDaddy Resource Library

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your current role.

I currently live in Belgrade, Serbia, and I’ve been working at GoDaddy for more than four years now! I work as a Software Development Engineer, more specifically a Full-Stack Developer. I utilize various technologies dependent on the project, which is both challenging and rewarding. When I’m not at work, I love spending time outdoors, whether it’s in the woods, parks, or by the river. I also enjoy working out, playing board games and going to escape rooms.

What real-life problems does your team solve?

Over the years, I’ve worked on various projects and teams, and my latest venture is with Pro Hub. This tool is designed to streamline website, client, and project management tasks, aiming to enhance productivity, collaboration, and client satisfaction. It offers secure, centralized customer management capabilities. In my current role, I primarily focus on backend development, specifically on automating the process of adding customers’ sites to the Hub. This ensures they can seamlessly leverage its features for their benefit.

What has been one of your proudest moments at GoDaddy?

I wouldn’t single out one moment. Rather, I am most proud of my progress and involvement over the years. It has been a journey filled with a lot of challenges and opportunities for growth. I’ve solved numerous issues, which have ultimately improved performance and boosted success rates.

What differentiates GoDaddy from other companies in Belgrade?

As a multinational company, GoDaddy has a supportive culture with a focus on diversity and equity. This provides more opportunities to work on innovative projects. We receive regular feedback, and our personal growth aligns with company objectives. Whenever possible, we can pursue projects that are of interest and contribute to achieving organizational goals. Moreover, our compensation package is highly competitive – it even includes company stock.

What advice would you give to an individual who is interested in a career in Software Development Engineering?

Try to gain practical experience through personal projects that interest you. This will allow you to solve problems you care about while learning throughout the process. Additionally, don’t forget the importance of mindset. It’s crucial to be open, dedicated, and patient. It’s not all about technical skills, as we all are a part of a team, so it’s important to keep that in mind.

What’s your motto or personal mantra?

There is a sentence that has been stuck in my mind ever since I’ve read it: “Change the way you look at things, and the things you look at will change.” Another mantra that I heard recently that resonated: “Assume best intentions.” Essentially, always try to understand before judging.

Are you enjoying this series and want to know more about life at GoDaddy? Check out our GoDaddy Life social pages! Follow us to meet our team, learn more about our culture (Teams, ERGs, Locations), careers, and so much more. You’re more than just your day job, so come propel your career with us.

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At the heart of YWCA Metropolitan Chicago‘s mission is to eliminate racism, empower women, and advocate for peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. Sharonda Glover, an integral figure in the organization’s marketing endeavors, amplifies this mission through storytelling, community engagement, events, and brand management. In her role as the VP of marketing and communications at the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, she embodies the spirit and vision of the organization, striving for an inclusive marketplace where everyone can thrive.

As part of Common Impact and The Allstate Foundation‘s Flash Consulting Day of Service, Allstate volunteers leveraged their skills to help nonprofits with operational challenges spanning marketing, technology, finance, and human resources. Sharonda proposed a project on her organization’s behalf that aimed to assess the viability of the YShop platform, a proprietary e-commerce platform, and develop a strategic plan for profitability and increased engagement.

We spoke with Sharonda about her remarkable career journey, from her entrepreneurial venture of launching Bonaco Candles to her current leadership position. Additionally, Sharonda shared how the skills-based volunteering program, facilitated by The Allstate Foundation and Common Impact, significantly contributed to her organization’s success. This program provided her invaluable resources and expertise, enabling her team to refine the organization’s YShop profitability and community engagement strategy.

No matter the role, company, organization, or team, the common thread in my career has been to bring love, light, and leadership to my marketing and communications work. 

Can you share insights into your professional journey, starting with your passion project, Bonaco Candles, and your current VP of Marketing and Communications role? What common thread connects your diverse roles?

My professional journey has been a blessed adventure. Over 15 years, I’ve connected to diverse people, traveled the country, learned about different cultures, and grown as a brand strategist. No matter the role, company, organization, or team, the common thread in my career has been to bring love, light, and leadership to my marketing communications work.

My original career dream was to be a psychiatrist, but I fell in love with the media and decided I wanted to be the next Oprah. Moving to Chicago for grad school to study integrated marketing communications was one of my best decisions. My career started in public relations and grew to explore brand strategy, fundraising, and online community building. I worked in corporate, education (high school and university), nonprofit, tech, and agency sectors, which taught me valuable business skills such as listening, planning, and building a strong strategy for anything I want. I took those lessons and launched my candle company, Bonaco Candles. Each candle represents various locations I’ve visited in hopes of inspiring people to travel and explore the world.

Now, as vice president of marketing and communications at YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, I can connect my professional experience to supporting a community and city I love. Being part of an organization whose mission is dedicated to eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all makes me feel a part of something bigger. The YWCA Metropolitan Chicago’s leaders meet monthly to discuss, learn, and develop our leadership skills. This type of intentional team building and development truly adds to my happiness at work and fuels me to work towards our mission!

What challenges do you face in your role as a marketing and communications expert, and how do you overcome them?

In my field, I am constantly discerning the right conversations and platforms to engage with and leveraging them to meet the goals of the brands I work with effectively. While I thoroughly plan and strategize before executing a particular project, I’ve learned that I don’t need to plan every step in advance to take action confidently. I have faith in my intuition and experience to help me make the best decisions for my work. I also rely on my incredible network. If I don’t have an answer, I know I can find it in the women and men who have been part of my career and life for the past 20 years.

You recently participated in a skills-based volunteering program with The Allstate Foundation and Common Impact. Could you share details about the project you brought to the volunteer team? What concrete steps or outcomes emerged from this collaboration that you find particularly exciting?

YWCA Metropolitan Chicago launched a proprietary e-commerce platform, YShop, in 2015 as part of a larger digital engagement strategy. The goal is to ignite excitement, spread awareness about our cause, and drive increased membership and investment in the organization, ultimately propelling revenue growth. Since its launch, YShop has become a hub for showcasing and selling our retail items alongside those of our strategic partners, primarily independent brands affiliated with our organization. We operate on a collaborative revenue model, where featured businesses generously contribute 10% of their sales back to the YWCA as a donation.

The project we brought to the Allstate volunteers was to help us assess the viability of the YShop platform, specifically as an earned revenue strategy. We also wanted to explore how to find more synergies or alignment between the e-commerce platform and our existing, mission-centered programs – for example, our Breedlove Entrepreneurship Center. The ultimate goal was to determine its current return on investment and develop a strategic plan for enhanced profitability and deeper community engagement.

The volunteers’ guidance proved invaluable as they offered tangible solutions across various facets of our Yshop operations. Their ideas were refreshing, from devising a new pricing model to implementing strategies to enhance user experience and retention. They also helped us strengthen our customer journey and refine our value proposition.

The volunteers shared free or low-cost resources, allowing us to implement the proposed strategies promptly. Thanks to the skills-based volunteering program facilitated by the Common Impact team, volunteers gained a deep understanding of our project needs. They addressed our feedback and concerns with finesse and eagerness, making the collaboration seamless and rewarding.

What were the specific skills or expertise from the Allstate volunteers that stood out to you and proved particularly beneficial for the project?

I was particularly excited to witness the depth of financial expertise the Allstate volunteers brought! Their passion for understanding the numbers and crafting strategic approaches to boost our shop revenue was inspiring. They equipped us with a strategy to ensure the long-term sustainability of the YShop, which will help us ensure long-term sustainability for the platform. When we started this project with them, we wanted to know whether to invest more effort into the platform, sunset it, or find ways to revive it, and they helped us see the opportunities for growth and spreading the word about the platform, such as speaking engagements, content creation, testimonials, and more. They provided us with clear, actionable steps and tactics. These insights will serve as our roadmap for reviving YShop and driving forward our marketing efforts to enhance awareness and drive traffic to the site. It was exactly the insight we needed!

Given the diverse roles you’ve held, from marketing to candle creation, what unexpected skill or talent have you discovered about yourself that brings joy to your professional life? 

I have discovered how to surrender to the process, whether work or life stuff; it is far more powerful to ride the wave instead of trying to control the outcome. Nothing will ever be perfect or exactly how I imagine. Life comes with twists and turns. I’ve learned to accept what is and trust that I’m moving towards what I want it to be. Because of this, I’m always progressing, growing, and elevating professionally and personally.

Our conversation with Sharonda exemplifies the transformative power of skill, dedication to a mission, and the profound impact individuals can make within their communities. We are reminded that every skill, every talent, has the potential to spark positive change.

Consider supporting the YWCA Metropolitan Chicago by donating, getting involved, or purchasing from the YShop. 

For more social impact content like this, follow us on LinkedIn and sign-up for our monthly newsletter. Ready to learn more about skills-based volunteering? Reach out.

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About Common Impact 

Common Impact is a national nonprofit that fosters meaningful partnerships between purpose-driven Fortune 500 companies and nonprofits worldwide to propel social good. Since 2000, Common Impact has generated over 205,000 hours of skills-based volunteering and $40 million in resources. Common Impact is dedicated to helping nonprofits expand their capacity, improve efficiency, and deliver on their mission with customized and impactful projects through corporate partnerships. Learn more about Common Impact’s services, impact, and clients.

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Media Contact 
Elizabeth Cross, Obviouslee Marketing 
common-impact@obviouslee.com