The LLYC Foundation – a project by the global communication, digital marketing and public affairs consultancy firm and its employees – supported 39 different social entities last year through 14 programs and four initiatives that benefitted 286 people. A total of 346 volunteers from the firm in the countries where it operates – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, the USA, Spain, Mexico, Peru, Panama, Portugal and the Dominican Republic – devoted a total of 531 hours of their time, in addition to their working day, to undertake these activities. This information is contained in the 2021 Annual Report that LLYC has just presented, for the fifth consecutive year, in a digital format on its Instagram platform and its corporate website.
Last year, the Foundation particularly focused its social action on supporting young people and women with scant resources. Specifically, its activities contributed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda, with a special emphasis on SDG 4 “Quality education” (with such training projects as “Storytelling for social Impact” in collaboration with IE University, “Aula Go” in collaboration with the SM Foundation and “Future Voices”). It also focused its actions on SDG 5 “Gender equality” and SDG 17 “Alliances to achieve the goals”.
José Antonio Llorente, Chairman of the LLYC Foundation stated, “The results of the 2021 Annual Report are very good. We have supported nearly 40 social entities, 40% more than in 2020, at a very difficult time of great uncertainty. I want to thank all those people who have made the Foundation’s work possible. I am proud that more than 340 professionals from the firm have given over part of their free time to these projects. The communication and skills of our team are essential for implementing this change that helps others”.
According to Albert Medrán, Director of the LLYC Foundation, “We are proud to present the Foundation’s 2021 results – a project that is made possible by the efforts, hard work and enthusiasm of all our volunteers, which is a reflection of the firm’s social action. We have managed to achieve some great results at a global level, create a positive impact on society and in 2022 we will continue to grow thanks to the work of our volunteers”.
The projects performed
Future Voices is a global project by the LLYC Foundation which, through the voluntary work of its professionals, helps young people at risk of social exclusion to strengthen their soft skills techniques related to communication and public speaking, with the aim of offering them useful tools to address their personal and professional future with more confidence. In 2021, the project was carried out in 10 countries – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, the USA, Spain, Mexico, Panama and the Dominican Republic- training a total of 195 young people.
Furthermore, for the fourth consecutive year, the #StoryTelling For Social Impact initiative was promoted together with Instituto de Empresa. In this project, Instituto de Empresa students on the Visual and Digital Media Master’s Degree designed and implemented, accompanied and mentored by LLYC volunteers, awareness campaigns for six NGOs and foundations with the aim of improving their communication and positioning in the sector. And, in collaboration with the SM Foundation, though its Aula Go project, the Foundation channeled its help by training young people in communication skills, with the aim of providing them with tools to develop new skills.
At a global level, the Foundation also contributed to SDG 5 on equality: “achieving gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls”, through its women’s empowerment programs. For example, for the second consecutive year, it has undertaken the CAPTA project in Panama with the Calicanto Foundation to provide women with scant resources with the skills needed to implement entrepreneurship projects. The Foundation has also continued with other programs in collaboration with Dress for Success (Portugal), Peaceful Alternatives (Mexico), Free Women of Colombia (Colombia) and 26 December (Spain).
Aside from the projects tied into the education and empowerment of women, over the course of 2021, the Foundation worked with other entities, collaborating on different campaigns to donate toys, school materials and food, such as Pequeño Hogar Exaltación (Argentina), Food Bank (Barcelona), Associação Comunidade Xurupita (Brazil), AAQUA and Soñar Despierto (Madrid), Contigiando Voluntad (Mexico), Nacional Institute for Oncology (Panama), the Kêlê Association (Lisbon) and Feeding South Florida (the United States). And, through its corporate channels, it has undertaken such internal initiatives as #LLYCxlaeducación on the International Day of Education and #LLYCsemueve – a healthy challenge to enhance the visibility of the importance of leading a healthy life.
Furthermore, in line with SDG 17 “Alliance to achieve the goals”, the LLYC Foundation is committed to joining forces with benchmark entities in the sector to create a greater impact on society. Accordingly, in October 2021, a partnership agreement was signed with the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI) – the main benchmark in terms of the development of cooperation projects tied in to education, science and culture between Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Latin American countries – lines of action that the LLYC Foundation shares.
