As part of K2’s commitment to support the communities within which we operate, K2 established a global Charity Champion Programme in 2023 to help drive action and coordinate our regional volunteering and fundraising activity.
As part of this programme, representatives put themselves forward to take on the role in each of our office locations. Key responsibilities for Charity Champions include liaising with charity partners in their location, taking the lead on planning a year-long calendar of volunteering and fundraising events and championing chosen charities both internally and externally.
As 2024 draws to a close, we’re reflecting on some of the highlights from this year’s charitable activity around the globe:
In the UK…
We continued to partner with children’s charities, Rainbow Trust and Naomi House & Jacksplace, alongside the Matt Hampson Foundation, taking part in numerous volunteering initiatives, including an on-site gardening day at the Naomi House & Jacksplace hospices and helping with the running of Rainbow Trust’s annual London Carol Concert.
Members of the K2 UK team also took part in Ride Across Britain to raise money for the K2 Foundation. An epic end-to-end cycle race, the nine-day-event saw the K2 Kinetic Cruisers, take on the 980 mile journey from Land’s End to John o’Groats.
In South Africa…
SOS Africa is K2 South Africa’s primary charity partner, with K2 having signed up to sponsor five local school children via the organisation. The K2 South Africa team made multiple visits to Grabouw Primary School throughout 2024, during which they helped out at aftercare, read to pupils, played games and spent quality time with the children that K2 sponsors: Luhle, Lelothando, Sibonkuhle, Enzokuhle and Onthatile. The team also donated books and stationery to the charity.
In Singapore…
We partnered with local charity Free Food for All during the summer, to distribute groceries to families in need. Many of the essential items given out were donated by the K2 Singapore office, using funds raised during a team event. Later in the year, as part of their Christmas campaign of giving, the team supported The Boys’ Brigade Share-a-Gift Project, as well as donating to the Make-a-Wish Foundation.
In the Middle East…
In the Middle East, the K2 team took part in the Clean UAE desert clean initiative in December, an activity that has become a regular fixture in their annual calendar of volunteering events. Regional Charity Champion, Danielle Salmon, talks about another activity that the team took part in in the first quarter of 2024.
In Sweden…
In May of 2024, a team of K2 pilots from the Sweden office spent two days supporting ‘Cykling utan ålder’ (Cycling Without Age) and its mission to give elderly people in the local community the opportunity to get out and see the world again. This was the second year that the K2 Sweden team took part in this initiative, which saw them collect passengers from local care homes and take them out for a spin on the charity’s specially designed trishaws. K2 Sweden have also been supporting the local branch of Ronald McDonald House, and are looking forward to working more closely with them in 2025.
In France…
The team in Paris spent the day at a residence for elderly people back in June, delivering a philosophical talk to the residents on happiness. The team also took along baked goods for the residents to enjoy.
In Australia…
K2 Australia took part in a volunteering day at the Sydney City Salvos, in Waterloo. Throughout the course of the day, the K2 Australia team provided assistance with food preparation and service, sorting donations and co-ordinating recreation activities.
In the US…
The K2 Houston office volunteered as a team at local homeless shelter, The Beacon. The Miami team also supported the homeless in their local community by putting together and delivering care packages. The Pittsburgh team spent a day volunteering at Global Links, a non-profit which aims to improve access to mental health services. The US teams are also committed to supporting the São Paulo school, alongside their Americas colleagues in Brazil.
…and finally, in Brazil
The team continue to make the São Paulo school build the focus of their volunteering and fundraising efforts. This project fully aligns with the aims of the K2 Foundation to improve the lives of children in each of our operational locations. The new building is a replacement for an existing school which, over time and through lack of funding, had fallen into a state of disrepair and as such was no longer fit for purpose. The new school, which is due to open in January, will cater for provide a safe and vibrant space for up to 150 children from the local favela to play and learn each day.
Throughout the year, the K2 Brazil team have been on hand to offer the project practical support as required, most recently visiting to assist with decorating the school and assembling furniture.
K2 Brazil’s Charity Champion, Ana Paduan, explains what being a Charity Champion means to her and the impact that K2’s charitable activity has had for the local community.
Charitable work is integral to K2’s culture. As an organisation, K2 recognises our responsibility to give back, and we empower our people to do the same through our programme of charitable activity. All of K2’s global employees are entitled to two days paid leave per year to take part in volunteering initiatives.
