William Blair teamed up with the Wrap Up London campaign to spread warmth across the UK this holiday season by supporting the group’s annual coat drive for the needy.
Now in its 10th year, the Wrap Up London campaign pivoted in 2020 with more promotions online and limited drop off locations due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But Londoners came out to support the drive, donating tens of thousands of coats for the homeless, refugee families, the elderly, those fleeing domestic violence and other people living in crisis. This was particularly important in 2020 with the need rising given COVID.
Instead of volunteering in-person to collect coats at the Liverpool Street Station as in past years, William Blair employees shifted their support by marketing the campaign via social media, donating their own coats or funding coat purchases, and supporting Wrap Up London’s gift wrap paper fundraiser to cover the cost of distributing coats.
“Despite the limitation of collection sites and how the coats were collected, the need for coats has not slowed down,” said Maria Malek, with William Blair’s Investment Banking team in London.
“This year’s virtual setting and the pandemic put the campaign in a different light and employees really stepped up to support the organization. This year also marked the tenth year William Blair has participated in the drive,” she added.
William Blair was the first financial sponsor of the event which began in 2011 when 2,800 coats were delivered to London charities. Nearly 190,000 people have received coats over the life of the campaign.
“It is amazing to see how much the campaign has evolved and how many people in the community have benefitted during their time of need," said Carolyn Kaiser, a William Blair employee who has been involved with Wrap Up London since its inception.
“I am proud to work for a firm that has been so supportive both financially and through the volunteer efforts of the employees, especially since William Blair was the first financial sponsor and continues to be the main donor each year,” Kaiser said.
While the 2020 main coat collection took place in Safestore locations across London November 9-14, Londoners continued to donate coats through mid-December. A total of 20,907 coats were distributed to 87 charities.