Volunteering

Aveda Volunteers

Aveda has an extensive outreach program to encourage employees to volunteer in their local communities.  The company organizes a number of volunteer events as part of our Activism for the Earth campaign and makes it as easy as possible to join in.  Aveda also encourages employees to volunteer for charitable causes that they consider important.

Activism for the Earth Events

When the snow disappears and the ice leaves the lakes, Minnesotans start volunteering on outdoor projects. At the end of April during Earth Month, 25 Aveda employees along with a healthy posse of their children spent an afternoon assisting Minnesota Audubon in cleaning up and restoring an oak savannah along the Mississippi River in St. Paul. The area was chosen in part because it was adjacent to a study project reforesting the river bottom.

In May, Aveda partnered with St. Paul Parks and Recreation, Minnesota Audubon and Urban Roots. The four-day event involved a cross section of the company, from custodial staff to vice presidents, pitching in to haul brush, remove garlic mustard, and prep urban gardens among the myriad of tasks that the nearly 150 employees accomplished over those four days. Participants experienced seeing immediate positive impacts on their local environment from their collective work, leading to many comments about looking forward to other opportunities to volunteer and contribute.

Employee Volunteering

When we asked our colleagues for some examples of volunteer efforts, we were flooded with replies.  Here are three volunteer stories:

Tricia Carlsen, Aveda Consumer Communications

Tricia spends most of her volunteer time at her daughter’s elementary school coordinating fundraisers, chaperoning on field trips, participating in track and field days and running with Girls on the Run.

“Girls on the Run is an important organization to me because it’s dedicated to creating a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams. While training for the run, the girls learn life skills through energetic, interactive lessons, and running games. Running is used to inspire and motivate them, encourage lifelong health and fitness, and build confidence through accomplishment. After the big run at the end of the season the girls feel like the impossible is possible; they learn that they can achieve anything.”

“It’s amazing to unlock a child’s potential and earn their trust and respect. It’s also wonderful to get them to see what they are capable of doing and to realize that they have the confidence to do it.”

Michelle Newlander, Aveda Creative

Michelle volunteers for United Legacy, a Minnesota-based nonprofit search and rescue organization specializing in search management. United Legacy organizes public and private search efforts with the help of volunteer searchers and law enforcement to find loved ones who have gone missing.

“I’ve seen and felt the enormous impact that two separate abductions have had on my community. No family should ever be alone in searching for their loved ones, we are all too familiar with the emotional impact that can have on family. United Legacy is on the ground and ready to get out there and take action to find your loved one the minute they go missing.”

“This amazing group of volunteers has become like a second family to me. We rally around each other, support and genuinely care for one another. The effort that everyone puts in to finding loved ones is truly amazing.”

Robin Neuenfeldt, Supply Chain GBSC New Product Launch

Robin is a member of the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA) a volunteer nonprofit organization dedicated to raising funds to support programs at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.   

“CHA members participate in partnerships, fundraising events, and network with organizations and groups that work together to help provide a positive health care experience for all children. I like to volunteer in support of CHA because sometimes children in need can’t get the help they require. The wonderful doctors, nurses and medical staff at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota are able to step in and use every resource available to them to push back the darkness of disease, injury and illness, and provide a place for hurting children and families to seek protection, peace, and return to health.”

“I co-created and have co-chaired a fundraising event to attract new supporters to CHA. To date this little event has raised over $20,000 to support programs at Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota!”

Aveda Employee Volunteering Impact

Fiscal Years 2015-2016

Aveda Network Volunteers

The salon owners, stylists and estheticians in the Aveda network have a number of opportunities to participate in voluntary Earth Month activities to raise money for environmental causes. For some, volunteering is an ongoing activity. At Square One Salon and Spa in Dayton, Ohio, an Aveda Concept Salon, a core focus of their business is:

“We will do anything we can to benefit those facing extraordinary challenges. Charity is part of our goal.”

 Brent Johnson, co-owner of Square One Salon and Spa, talks about one of their major volunteer efforts:

“We hold an annual fund-raiser to help a local nonprofit, Hospice of Dayton. The Hair Show and Luncheon event was an incredible success raising approximately $90,000 and sponsored by local Dayton companies. Attended by approximately 500 people, over a dozen local salons worked with 2-4 models each to represent the theme of ‘Under the Sea.’  It was a great opportunity to come together as community of salons and support each other's creativity and charitable hearts. We assigned different roles in the event to established and upcoming stylists to build on their strengths and expand their opportunities for responsibilities in and out of the salons.”

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