As a team, all the brilliantly talented, unique individuals that work at FleishmanHillard UK deliver amazing work for our clients. Each person’s individual strengths, passions and ambitions are what makes FleishmanHillard UK an incredible agency, a diverse talent pool of creative minds solving complex communications challenges and a certified ‘Best Place to Work’. […]

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The U.S. currently faces a shortage of foster parents for the 400,000 American children and youth in foster care. With the COVID-19 pandemic, it is even more crucial that children, youth and foster families have access to the resources they need to build community, empowerment and hope.

This past fall, the FH4Inclusion Texas team partnered with National Angels, an organization that supports children in the foster care system and their families. We helped educate the Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth communities about the foster care system and bring awareness to the work National Angels is doing in these communities, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current crises have put a significant strain on foster care families. From assisting multiple foster children with virtual schooling to economic struggles to the inability to receive consistent in-person help, families and organizations are struggling.

Nonprofits like National Angels have taken on the challenge of ensuring children in the foster care system and their caretakers have consistent support through intentional giving, relationship building and mentorship. National Angels, which began in Austin, Texas, is now serving children, youth and families across 22 U.S. cities, with important resources through its Love Box and Dare to Dream programs.

In prior years, National Angels hosted a gala around the holidays to raise money to support families. With COVID-19, this year the organization hosted a virtual Give-A-Thon. That’s where the FH4Inclusion Texas team stepped in — to aid in raising awareness about the event, the organization’s work in Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth, and the current difficulties for foster care families and children during the pandemic.

The Give-A-Thon kicked off on Giving Tuesday and continued for three days. The FH4Inclusion team conducted media relations and community outreach support, securing interviews and articles with local media based in Austin and Dallas, including a segment with CBS. By the end of the three days, National Angels exceeded its Give-A-Thon goal by more than $100,000 and raised crucial funds to continue providing support to more children and families in foster care around Texas and across the country.

“We are blown away by the success of our first-ever Angels Give-A-Thon and are so hopeful and excited for the many lives that will be impacted in the communities we serve because of it.” Paige Procknow, chief marketing officer of Austin Angels

“With the pandemic bringing economic hardships for so many households, we didn’t know what results to expect from the fundraiser. It was an amazing surprise to see that National Angels not only met but exceeded its goal, with hundreds of people showing up to support the foster care community. It’s moments like this that make me grateful to be part of a company with so much power to create meaningful impact.” Ana Hernandez Quiros, FH4Inclusion Texas team member and Alfred Fleishman Diversity Fellow

Photo courtesy of National Angels

Tate LaCasse and Ana Hernandez Quiros work with clients in healthcare, government and consumer brands in our Austin office.

Diversity looks different around the globe. At FleishmanHillard (FH), we believe in the power of perspectives and teams that reflect the world we live in and the stakeholders and clients we serve. Fostered through our FH Perspectives initiative, our best thinking, creativity and results come from the diverse talent and experiences within the agency.

Brussels — the capital of the European Union — is home to 24 official European languages, most of which you will hear any given week in the FleishmanHillard Brussels office. Today, we’re highlighting our Brussels office and sharing what some of our colleagues based there believe make FleishmanHillard a unique and values-driven place to work.

Mette Grolleman, general manager (Home country: Denmark)

“Part of what makes FH Brussels such a unique and special place to work, is the diversity of the people working here. Europe and its many different languages and cultures are embedded in Brussels, as the capital of Europe! Here we are brought together from all over the world, all with a burning passion for politics and for serving our clients to the best of our ability.”

“The diversity is unique, as 15+ different languages are spoken and 15+ nationalities are represented at FH Brussels, all bringing their different perspectives into the work we do. I am immensely proud and grateful to be able to work in such a diverse environment, where we all respect and care for each other, and come together with one common purpose – building a business that respects and values all perspectives – and in that way helps our clients navigate their many different issues the best way possible.”

Robert Wright, senior vice president, Environment and Chemicals (Home country: Ireland)

“Of all the places I have worked and visited on business, there is nowhere which possesses such a wide set of cultural reference points. The fact that we are able to speak to clients and stakeholders – literally – in most or all of those official languages means that the FH Brussels team provides and enables a hub for addressing strategic and business investment issues in the EU, and even globally.”

“In addition to my Belfast version of English, I speak French, Italian and decent Spanish. This allows me to ‘tune in’ to conversations that I might not otherwise be able to. It also allows me to see issues and solutions from other nationalities’ viewpoints, as well as fully appreciate that aligning communications can be a challenge that we should always be aware of and try to manage. I also speak Irish, but tend to use this less in my work context.”

Alexander Tempel, account manager, Financial Services (Home countries: Germany and Spain)

“The diversity in our office is of strategic importance to our work. The fact we that have so many nationalities in our office means we can cut through the noise in multiple markets in Europe and understand their cultural, political and economic dynamics. All of us benefit greatly from this as there is always a colleague who knows more on a particular country. I see it in my day to day work when I service clients from different EU Member States.”

Haven Hightower, account manager, Healthcare (Home country: United States)

“Having such an extensive mix of nationalities in our office gives us a treasure trove of insight into all things – work and non-work related. Be it political, linguistic, cultural or even culinary, there is always someone in the FH Brussels family willing to extend a helping hand to solve any problem or answer any question. This has fostered a culture of learning and exchange that allows us to celebrate our unique perspectives and what we bring to the team.”