WORK

Over the past few weeks in Viet Nam, we hosted three First Aid workshops with informal waste collectors and junk shop owners. ♻️

Across all three sessions, more than 100 participants came together to learn practical first aid skills that can support safety and well-being while working each day.

From shop owners to collectors stopping in throughout their workday, these workshops created space to learn, ask questions, and build connections together.

At WORK, we believe dignified work also means access to resources, training, and safer working conditions for the people who keep communities running every day.

🇦🇺 Only 3 Sydney Marathon charity bibs remain.

The Sydney Marathon is now part of the World Marathon Majors, and this is your chance to secure a spot while running for something bigger than yourself.

When you join Team WORK, you'll commit to raising $3,500 to support WORK's mission of accompanying families out of poverty through good, dignified jobs. Every mile you run helps create opportunities for families in Haiti and communities around the world.

🏃 Guaranteed Sydney Marathon entry
🌎 Join a global community of runners making an impact
❤️ Fundraise for lasting change
🎯 Only 3 spots left

This year, WORK runners have taken on races in Pittsburgh, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and beyond. Sydney is next.

Interested? Send us a DM or email [email protected] before these final bibs are gone.

Meet Gaby!

Gaby is a member of our First Mile team, helping build partnerships and strengthen systems that support informal waste collectors and recycling communities around the world. 🌎 Her work spans cross-functional collaboration, partnership development, and learning directly from stakeholders—from waste collectors in Guatemala to foundations and business partners advancing shared goals.

Gaby’s goal is to help build systems that recycling communities can truly own, where their voices are amplified and they have the tools to invest in their own futures. She believes that lasting change happens when communities lead the way.

A major success? Bringing together expertise in grassroots development, grantmaking, and cross-sector partnerships to help strengthen the recycling value chain and create opportunities for the millions of informal waste collectors who are the backbone of recycling economies across the Global South.

Gaby chose WORK and our First Mile Program because it aligns with a belief she has carried throughout her career: communities are the true drivers of development. Through her role, she is helping connect people, partnerships, and resources to build a more inclusive and responsible recycling system.

Please join us in giving Gaby a warm welcome! 👋

This week in Ghana, some of our global team members joined our local team to co-design interventions with our collectors and community leaders. We're working with leaders like Divine, who's the current President of the Kpone Landfill Waste Picker Association and an aggregator of recycled plastics at the largest landfill in the country.

Over the last few months, we worked on improving business systems, ensuring every transaction is tracked, paid on time, and can be traceable. We also provided a cash flow boost that has enabled him to 10X his material volume and 5X the number of informal waste collectors who sell to him, effectively improving income and volume of recyclables diverted from the landfill.

Last month, he co-hosted several health and safety workshops for his collectors with us, where participants learned together and received resources to apply their learnings.

Divine shows up and is present to all of the work. His commitment inspires us. Several weeks ago, his home was wrongfully demolished. Overnight, he and his family lost all of their belongings, memories, and a sense of safety and home. While he's griefing, rebuilding, and fighting for his family, he still shows up for his collectors every single day.

Support Divine and his family by making a donation today to a fundraiser set up by our partners at the International Alliance of Waste Pickers. Link: https://loom.ly/zLqHHJI

This May, on Agriculture and Labor Day in Haiti, children in our community took part in an environmental activity focused on recycling and planting.

Using recycled plastic bottles as pots, students planted seeds while learning that:
♻️ plastic can be reused instead of thrown away
🌱 small actions can make a difference
💚 everyone has a role in caring for their environment

A little girl shared that she wants to plant mango trees at home so her family won’t have to buy mangoes anymore. Another student said he plans to start collecting plastic instead of throwing it away.

Simple moments like these show how hands-on learning can spark new ideas and conversations far beyond the classroom.

Support programs that empower children to learn, grow, and become leaders in their community. Donate through the link in our bio. 🔗

Last Friday, our incredible friends and supporters tackled their second annual Relay 101 — a jaw-dropping 101-mile epic relay race kicking off from Lululemon Studio City and finishing strong at Lululemon Santa Barbara! This year, the event opened its doors to the public, bringing together five teams and three solo runners, all setting out at 5 AM to take on the stunning California Coast. 🌊🏃

And they didn’t just run — they ran for a reason. Every mile moved us closer to supporting the families we serve. Wolfpack Runners has now raised over $2,200 and has been showing up for our Move With Us campaign since 2023. That kind of dedication means the world to us!

A huge, heartfelt THANK YOU to every single runner who laced up and gave it their all this year. You are what makes this community so special. 💛

Photo credit:

Meet Maelly from Haiti 🇭🇹

Through WORK’s Education Program, Maelly is currently studying Financial Institutions Management and continues to grow her passion for the finance field through both school and entrepreneurship.

While studying, she also launched her own business, Mae - Mamba & Confiture, creating natural products made from peanuts and fruits. What started as an idea is now a growing business and a reflection of her hard work and determination.

As she continues building her experience, Maelly is currently searching for internship opportunities to further develop her professional skills. Even with challenges finding that first opportunity, she continues showing up motivated and committed to her future.

Support students like Maelly as they build skills, launch businesses, and create new opportunities for their future through the link in our bio 🔗 💛

In April, our Executive Director Vivien Luk joined leaders during their annual Innovation Week and participated in a panel discussion highlighting sustainability partnerships and initiatives.

The panel, Beyond the Bottom Line: How Purpose Driven Partnerships are Transforming Supply Chains and Communities, showcased the origin of our collaboration to produce the Eco-Friendly debit cards made with recycled HDPE procured by our First Mile collectors in Haiti. The event included a demonstration of how plastic waste is collected and transformed into the Eco-Friendly debit cards and other products.

One ton of plastic is diverted from the ocean for every million debit cards produced. Every customer who has an Eco-Friendly debit card in their pockets is not just making a positive impact for our planet, but also for the people - the collectors in Haiti - who sourced the materials.

We're grateful for our partnership with U.S. Bank. Let us know if you have a U.S. Bank Eco-Friendly card in your wallet!

Meet Sister Comfort, the leader behind SOAR (Sisters Organizing and Advancing Recycling) in Ghana 🌍 ♻️

SOAR is creating environmental sustainability and social impact by addressing plastic pollution in local communities. From discarded water sachets to plastic bottles, Sister Comfort and her team are working to create cleaner, healthier communities through recycling and community engagement.

Through SOAR clubs in schools, community pickers, volunteers, and recycling partners, plastic waste is collected, sorted, and sold to recycling companies — creating income opportunities, educating youth, and supporting livelihoods along the way.

At WORK, we believe meaningful change starts at the individual level: by listening to the needs of community members, building strong partnerships, and growing together. That’s why we are proud to work alongside Sister Comfort and SOAR.

This year, our work with SOAR includes addressing health and safety for collectors, raising income by improving access to market, and investing in equipment for SOAR to increase collection volume.

Improved working conditions, higher income, and a cleaner community. Let's go. Get behind our work with Sister Comfort and SOAR by making a donation today.

Donate here: 🔗https://loom.ly/cpg88dM or through the link in our bio.

One unforgettable day in Brooklyn. 🏃‍♀️💛

This weekend, , , and took on the Brooklyn Half Marathon alongside thousands of runners, weaving through Prospect Park, down Ocean Parkway, and all the way to the Coney Island finish line.

Together, they raised $2,550 in support of our families and community. We’re so grateful for their continued commitment to showing up, running with purpose, and investing in long-term opportunity alongside WORK.

Our team is still working toward our fundraising goal, and every contribution helps create more access to education, dignified jobs, and opportunity. If you’d like to support this work, you can donate here: 🔗 https://loom.ly/tjVbEn8

Thank you for carrying our community with you every mile.