Over the course of the past few weeks, companies have shown their support for the movement towards racial equity in various ways. Yello employees decided to switch things up. The company usually holds an in-person auction to help raise money for an organization of their choosing. Originally, this year’s beneficiary was an organization that helped bring monetary relief to those most affected by COVID-19. After the recent events in the United States, employees at Yello thought it would be better to shift their donations to an organization that is directly helping end racial inequality. My Block, My Hood, My City is an organization that helps youth in Chicago explore STEM, arts & culture, health, community development. The organization also provides COVID-19 relief and direct assistance to elderly folks in Chicago. 

So how does this work? Employees at Yello “sell” some of the things they have created. Some employees chose to auction off an experience: cooking classes, dog training, and even running/triathlon coaching. Others chose to auction off something that they’ve created, anything from crochet baby caps to homemade loaves of bread. The Yello Together, At Home Auction was moved virtually this year, but it helped employees spend time together outside of work bonding over (and sometimes bickering over) some of the goods that their coworkers created. 

Not only did it serve to collect money and raise awareness for My Block, My Hood, My City, but participants also got to share their new favorite hobbies they have developed during their time quarantining--for some that meant woodwork and for others it meant cross-stitching. Yello employees auctioned off everything from a hand-carved cutting board to a loaf of bread that both ended up going for over one-hundred dollars. You can take a look at some of the items below! Yello also matched all of the donations that came from this auction.  

When companies give back to the community, it is not only benefiting the community, but also the business itself. There is a lot of value in organizations coming together with creative ways to help benefit some of the organizations in need right now. It’s not a secret that team building and coworker relationships now look and feel a little different online, but events like this help bring employees together for a great cause. 

Check out Yello on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Written by Daniela Garcia