Season of Service 2024: NBCUniversal Employees Unite to Make a Difference

Season of Service is an annual opportunity for NBCUniversal employees to give back during the holiday season. From December 2 to December 20, 2024, nearly 3,700 employees came together in-person and virtually to support 90+ of our nonprofit partners. Notably, over 500 of those employees were first-time volunteers with NBCUnites, the company’s social impact initiative. 

We would like to thank our dedicated volunteers for completing 5,700+ hours of service and making a significant impact in our communities by helping to serve thousands of meals, distribute tens of thousands of items to those in need, and mentor hundreds of students. Learn more about how volunteers gave back during Season of Service below. 

Building Stronger Communities 

In New York, volunteers participated in two activities aimed at providing support and holiday cheer to community members near and far. With Operation Gratitude, volunteers stuffed 200 teddy bears that will be gifted to the children of deployed service members, giving them a tangible symbol of their loved one to hold close. Through New York Cares, employees led a fun activity and healthy eating workshop for senior citizens who are visually impaired. 

In Los Angeles, volunteers provided food and necessary supplies to struggling community members through a number of kit and food packing projects. With L.A. Works, volunteers compiled 150 stay warm kits and made 20 no sew blankets for use by families and seniors. NBC4 and Telemundo52 employees participated in the 7^th annual Help for the Hungry campaign, packaging bags of groceries for 1,500 families experiencing food insecurity. Amber Scott, an NBCUnites Ambassador, organized an event with Happy Hope Factory where volunteers packed 40 kits with activities for children in overnight hospital stays. Finally, LA employees hosted an event with Baby2Baby matching participants with a child living in poverty to provide their holiday wishes and winter needs. 

London had a record-breaking Season of Service! Sky employees participated in a Guinness World Record-breaking Wrapathon with over 6,000 gifts being donated to 30 UK charities including The King’s Trust, Multibank, and NSPCC. Volunteers continued spreading holiday cheer to some of the most vulnerable members of their communities. With Under One Sky, they provided coffee, food, and conversation to unhoused community members, and they wrapped (even more) holiday gifts that were given to children at Argyle Primary School.  

In Stamford, volunteers supported their community members in a multitude of ways, from creating ornaments with Soldiers’ Angels, to decorating shopping bags with Person to Person. Stamford’s Young Professionals Network chapter hosted an event with Project Linus creating no sew blankets for children who are seriously ill, traumatized, or otherwise in need. Stamford volunteers also made sure that their community members were well-fed this holiday season participating in 2 food packing events, one with Filling in the Blanks and one with New Covenant Center. 

Miami volunteers partnered with United Way to bring holiday magic to local children and their families by wrapping gifts to be distributed to community members through local nonprofit organizations. Participants got in the holiday spirit while wrapping a total of 100 gifts.  

Volunteers in Philadelphia worked with Angels in Motion (AIM) to pack 200 "blessing bags” filled with PB&J sandwiches, clothing, toiletries and other donated items. The blessing bags are then distributed to people struggling with substance use disorders and are a great way to make that first contact and start forming a friendship and building trust. Each blessing bag contains an AIM resource pamphlet with information and phone numbers to call when seeking medical help, shelter, detox/treatment etc.  

Mentoring The Next Generation 

Volunteers had the opportunity to uplift the next generation of young storytellers through a virtual feedback session with Story Pirates Changemakers, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching and inspiring creative writing through high-quality and engaging programs for under-resourced children, schools, and communities. 102 participants were given pieces of writing by young authors and were then asked to encourage the young writers by providing positive and inspirational feedback on their work.  

A longstanding partner of NBCUnites, Urban Arts is a nonprofit that teaches game design to underrepresented students from low-income communities as a pathway to college and future careers in the industry. This Season of Service, 25 volunteers were provided the profile of an Urban Arts students in order to search for scholarship opportunities that the students could pursue. Volunteers found over 375 unique scholarships with an eligible total award of over $2 million dollars. 

Another virtual opportunity allowed volunteers to connect with young people from Covenant House, New York’s largest shelter serving youth experiencing homelessness. 15 volunteers were paired with 9 Covenant House youth to conduct mock interviews intended to increase their confidence and preparedness, better enabling them to succeed in the job and college application process.  

In New York, volunteers had the opportunity to participate in an in-person mentorship event with students from Step Up, a nonprofit providing structured programming designed to help young women chart their path academically and professionally. The 12 volunteers led 40 girls from Step Up on a scavenger hunt around NBCU’s iconic 30 Rockefeller Plaza offices sharing information about their own careers and allowing the students to envision themselves at the company one day.