Values & Community

In 2022, the NYC Faber team spent their day working with the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, which was originally created to preserve an area of green space within the rapidly developing city. The team spent their day volunteering in the children’s garden, aiding in planting, and assisting with work around the garden.

Dating back to 1910, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden was founded during an era when New York City was quickly evolving into a landscape of concrete. The Garden was created to preserve an area of green space within the rapidly developing city. According to the organizational website, “The Garden has come to represent the very best in urban gardening and horticultural display.” It is also a leader in sustainable practices, promoting urban greening through education, conservation, and creative partnerships.

Other Garden community programs include the Street Tree Stewardship initiative, which educates and empowers everyday New Yorkers to properly care for their trees, and the Brooklyn Urban Gardener certificate program, which links the educational resources of the Botanical Garden to the greening efforts of Brooklyn’s communities through annual courses on urban gardening basics and community greening. The Garden also promotes healthy neighborhoods through its Community Garden Alliance, which focuses on teaching and sharing information about sustainable gardening practices.

In 2022, the Faber team from the Waltham office spent their day of service volunteering at Drumlin Farm in Lincoln, MA, where they aided in harvesting Fall crops. The working farm is located within a wildlife sanctuary and serves as headquarters for the Massachusetts Audubon Society. With a mission to “protect the nature of Massachusetts for people and for wildlife” and a commitment to sustainable farming, Drumlin Farms raises livestock and poultry, grows a variety of crops, and produces hay for its animals.

Its parent organization, the Mass Audubon Society, dates back to the late 1800s. With a goal of protecting nature for children and animals, it uses policy and advocacy to conserve the natural landscapes of Massachusetts from the city parks to the coastline. In addition to its many community initiatives, Mass Audubon also works with corporate partners to develop resources and programs that help communities:

• Conserve natural areas and integrate nature into new and re-development
• Support native plants and wildlife across the state through active land management, species monitoring, and field research
• Educate and engage people in learning more about native wildlife through public programs and community science projects

The Faber employees revisited a worthwhile organization for their day of service in 2020. Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) uses online tools and satellite imagery to create maps that help rescue workers reach the most remote locations of the world when disasters strike. Many of these locations have been previously uncharted, which can make emergency response extremely difficult to accomplish. Developing location maps for over 7.5 million people, the organization has worked closely with a number of leading emergency response organizations, including Doctors Without Borders and the Red Cross.

The emergency mapping program offered a timely way for firm members to work collectively on a valuable initiative while remaining socially distant. About half of the firm’s employees spent the day mapping areas of Guyana, a Caribbean region that is highly exposed to various natural and manmade hazards. Combined with the threat of global climate change and various economic vulnerabilities, much of the Caribbean region sits in a particularly unstable socio-economic situation.

For the project, Faber participants pinpointed and outlined buildings and structures in the area to create mapping details. This was the second time that the firm volunteered with HOT. In June 2016, the Faber team participated in a map-a-thon sponsored by the organization. At the time, the project focused on Mozambique. Homes, roads and rivers were pinpointed in order to direct spraying efforts in a malaria elimination project.

In 2019, Faber staff members dedicated their day of service to helping empower young adults to take charge of their lives by taking charge of a business. More Than Words is a nonprofit social enterprise that serves youth aged 15 to 24 who are in the foster care system, court-involved, homeless, or out of school. Through their bookselling business, participants work approximately 20 hours each week managing the retail business while also learning valuable life skills and gaining lasting work experience. “Graduates of More Than Words pursue education and secure and keep employment at rates that far exceed their peers,” states the organization’s website, “94% of our youth and graduates have or are on track to earn a High School Diploma or equivalent, and 82% are working. "We're proud of these hard-earned accomplishments and each and every young person who works with us to take charge of their lives.” Faber volunteers helped the More Than Words youth exceed their daily production goals by sorting approximately 2,700 books during their time at the facility. They also helped these amazing young adults with their personal interaction goals, as they spoke with the youth about the workings of their business and accompanied them on a guided tour. There are numerous ways that the community can support the youth of More Than Words in meeting their business and personal goals.

In late 2018, Faber staff members worked donating their time and efforts to Gaining Ground, an organization that grows organic produce and distributes it for hunger relief throughout Greater Boston and Eastern Massachusetts. Volunteers perform almost 70% of the work required to manage the farm’s 20 acres of land. The organization receives help from more than 3,000 people every growing season, including people of all ages and abilities. “We believe that everyone has something to contribute,” states the organization’s website, “from planting beans in the ground, to tying flowers and herbs into bouquets for drying, to chopping wood for sugaring and harvesting cherry tomatoes.” Faber volunteers were elbow-deep, harvesting about 1200 pounds of sweet potatoes, one of the farm’s staples in its efforts to alleviate hunger. Gaining Ground’s produce goes straight from the farm to homeless shelters, food pantries, and various local meal programs.

Wine to Water is an extraordinary not-for-profit organization, established in 2007, committed to alleviating the world’s clean water crisis. One way the organization meets this goal is through the assembly and distribution of safe, low-cost water filters to individuals in hard to reach locations without reasonable access to clean (potable) water. In 2018, Faber staffers participated in a Wine To Water Filter Build, where they successfully assembled 100 water filters. It was a family affair, with children as young as 4 years old joining in on this important effort. The constructed filters were then distributed to families in Puerto Rico who were impacted by the devastating hurricane.

This was Faber’s first time assisting with Wine To Water, but the experience sparked a heartwarming chain reaction. Several of the younger participants even expressed interest in bringing Wine to Water Filter Builds to their campuses and communities.

Since 2004, Faber has been the lead sponsor for Bio-Ball, providing both financing and volunteers to manage this day-long basketball tournament to raise funds for Special Olympics Massachusetts. Local biotech professionals and Special Olympians─ ranging from teenagers to 60-year-olds─form dual lineup teams that compete on individual skills and in a series of five-on-five games. The day’s activities culminate in a championship playoff, showcasing the talents and determination of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Throughout the year, teams from participating firms hold separate fundraisers that contribute to the event’s fundraising total.