By Antonela De Bernardo, Thomson Reuters

New York’s historic South Street Seaport area got the attention it deserves when 14,500 runners, along with spectators and volunteers, descended upon the neighborhood last month. Lower Manhattan was filled with participants of the NYC Half Marathon as racers and fans lined the streets to celebrate fitness, recovery, and community. Among them all, 20 fierce Thomson Reuters employees embraced a wardobe of shiny spandex and purple singlets with our company logo on our backs to take up the challenge to raise funds benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS). (more…)

Comic Relief, a major charity based in the UK, strives to create a just world free from poverty. Their mission is to drive positive change through the power of entertainment.

“Red Nose Day” is just one of the ways Comic Relief raises millions to increase awareness around poverty and social injustice and tackle the root causes of such issues. On March 15, throughout the UK, various activities took place at local and regional levels, topped off with a night of entertainment from world-class UK comedians live on television.

Our very own Treasury Transaction Services (TTS) team in the UK took it upon themselves to raise funds for this worthy cause. The TTS team brought smiles to the 7^th floor of South Colonnade with their fine display of “Tank Top Fashion” (the knitted sweater vests for those who are curious). They paraded around the office imitating their fearless leader, Chris Barrett (as he has been known to wear a tank top or two) and caused laughter throughout the building. And it was all for a good cause! The team raised a few hundred pounds that will be matched by the Thomson Reuters Matching Program.

Chris Barrett was thrilled with his team: “Within our daily challenges that tend to dominate our thoughts and also our time, it is very commendable that the UK Liquidity Sales team were able to pause and consider such a worthy cause such as Comic Relief – the entire team should take great pride in their contribution”

Meanwhile, visitors to the Atrium of our South Colonnade office may have stumbled upon lines of hungry colleagues waiting for their turn to choose their favorites from an impressive selection of home-baked cakes at a ‘Most Excellent Cake Sale’ in aid of Red Nose Day. (more…)

What are some of your favorite traditions at work? Recently, on our Eagan campus in Minnesota, we decided to try something new and celebrated our first “Pie Day.” Every employee had the opportunity to come to our main cafeteria, receive a free piece of pie, and participate in an auction for charity of pies baked by the Eagan Site Committee. Through the auction we raised about $3,000 for a local charity, Feed My Starving Children, and had a ton of fun with a great auctioneer and lively competition between the pie bakers for “Best Pie” honors. We also received many suggestions from employees on how to improve the event and will be implementing those ideas in the future.

As I reflect on Pie Day, it strikes me how much fun we had, and how “fun” can be a key catalyst for drawing us together for a common purpose and creating a great workplace and culture. I’m an advocate of 3 simple rules for living: 1) Work hard, 2) Do what’s right, and 3) Have fun along the way. Work is definitely serious – it’s about commitment, accomplishment and progress. But a fun environment can make work more of a pleasure and less of a chore.

There are lots of examples of fun around our business that aren’t location-specific (like FindLaw’s Innovation Challenge where employees submit ideas to improve our products and our organization) or even event-based (like occasionally incorporating humor into our marketing). And fun doesn’t have to be costly. From “walking meetings” to discuss a project while enjoying light exercise and a change of scenery, to volunteering as a way to build team camaraderie, there are many ways to regularly incorporate fun into our culture.

What are your favorite examples of fun at work?

By Rodney Joyce, Thomson Reuters

There were blisters, exhaustion and lots of greetings and curious questions from village children along the way, as 22 Thomson Reuters teams of four set out to walk 100 km (62 miles) each under the Indian sun, raising more than $26,000 for charity along the way.

Bangalore has become the 15^th home of Trailwalker, a fundraising team challenge run by Oxfam, a British NGO, which enticed 88 Thomson Reuters staff to join the second year of the Indian event. It was run on a course that, on the map, looks like a broken smile a few miles south of the city, which is home to the company’s second-largest Operations Center.

That Thomson Reuters Bangalore and Trailwalker are intertwined is no surprise. Bangalore’s Site Head, Linsey Simpson, has made a habit of walking the Trailwalker; having participated multiple times, she reformed her “Pink Ladies” franchise for the Indian edition and raced home in a top-25 finish, out of more than 160 corporate and individual team entries. (more…)

On Thursday January 17, a group of Thomson Reuters employees from all across the business hosted a Happy Hour fundraiser event in New York City to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS).

Each team-member invited colleagues, friends and family members and more that 70 people defied the cold weather and came out to support their efforts with Team in Training as they train to compete in the NYC Half Marathon next spring and raise funds in support of the LLS’ mission. Guests were welcomed by the team wearing purple jerseys, ordered cocktails from Thomson Reuters employees who guest-bartended, participated in a 50/50 raffle and enjoyed a night out with colleagues from across the organization. The event was a complete success and they raised over $1,200 live-saving dollars.   (more…)

When 500 of our employees assembled at Bangkok’s Lumpini Park to participate in the Thomson Reuters Mini Marathon, some wonderful things happened.

First, it was an event where everyone was on a level playing field. Whether you are an associate software engineer or a technical director, you had to run two laps around the park in under 50 minutes in order to get a medal. Every runner donated 300 baht ($10) and in return got a running jersey and a running bib. They were also invited to bring their families and friends to join. (more…)

Some people show their charitable sides at early ages. If that’s the case with your children, Reuters Wealth and Personal Finance Editor Chelsea Emery has pointers on how to teach them the best practices for charitable giving.

Watch more Money Clip episodes.

Employees across our London offices once again beat the festive crowds to support the annual Christmas Toy Appeal. In partnership with our community partners ELBA (East London Business Alliance) funds were donated and brand new toys purchased and for children aged 0-16 who receive much needed support from local community organizations in East London. For many, these are the only gifts they will receive during the holiday season.

An impressive array of 316 toys were donated through this year’s toy appeal – footballs, books, cuddly toys, puzzles, make-up sets and games to name just a few. The gifts are pictured above, with a very special guest…

A huge thanks to everyone who battled the crowds to buy a gift or donated money to the appeal, our contributions were the single largest received and mean that many lives will be made brighter this year.

Special thanks also to Catherine Henshaw for organizing this London-wide appeal as well as working with Manhattan toy company to ensure the greatest selection of gifts possible. Also to Penny McPherson and Pauline Dennehy for supporting over and above in their local offices.

Until next year!

Things are slowly getting back to normal for many people living and working in the areas affected by Hurricane Sandy. We are still getting stories, highlighting the incredible dedication of our employees not only to Thomson Reuters and our clients, but also to helping the broader community.

Two of our employees in Wealth Management (WM) are based in East Rockaway, one of the most badly hit areas. When the WM team asked Gordon Fox, and Andrew Braun what it could do to help, they spontaneously told us to help the village facing the clean up.

In East Rockaway, an estimated 60% of people are still without power, with few generators and no gas to fill them. Andrew was told he may not have power back until Thanksgiving. In this area, houses near the canal are under 6 feet of water and when a sewage plant failed, not only did some houses end up flooded, they were also condemned. Two schools in the village were lost. And Andrew’s home is now all but a shell of what it once was.

The town, which is home to a number of other Thomson Reuters employees, has faced many challenges in recent memory including the loss of first responders who perished in 9/11, plus several storms prior to Sandy.

How we’re helping the East Rockaway community get back on its feet (more…)

On October 27, three million people gathered across America to help their communities in every way possible. Make A Difference Day, created by USA WEEKEND Magazine and held in partnership with the Points of Light, is always held on the fourth Saturday of October and is the nation’s largest day of service.

At Thomson Reuters in Eagan, MN, we sponsored our fifth annual Birthday Bag Blitz with Cheerful Givers and Kids ‘n Kinship mentors and mentees. These two nonprofits partnered to bring together 120 volunteers who assembled 3,000 birthday bags for less fortunate children in Minnesota. The event’s theme this year was “Kids Helping Kids”.

Every year it’s very inspiring to see the pride on the kid’s faces as they work hard to assemble the bags and prepare them to be shared with other kids. But it’s not all about making birthday bags to allow 3,000 parents to be able to recognize their child’s birthday with a gift. When asked what they learned from the day’s event, we heard: “a lot of people working together can do a lot of good”, “working together to make a difference is fun”, “giving a little time goes a long way”, and “it feels good to know you can help others”. It’s absolutely important for young people to be involved in their communities. Hopefully, this feeling continues in years to come for these kids because they learned that they can make a difference every day.