Start your weekend with The Weeknd.
Recapping Investor Day, how you can help Ukraine and celebrating Employee Appreciation day.
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Happy Friday! On today’s episode of Up to Speed, Raquel Wilson shared the following updates:
Up To Speed week in review
Monday: We wrapped up Black History Month and took a look at everything in store for March including Women’s History Month, Mobile World Congress and National Nutrition Month.
Tuesday: Diana Alvear and I kicked off Women’s History Month highlighting all the exciting events around our Women’s History Month theme, #BreakTheBias.
Wednesday: Diana gave us an inside look at how we showed up at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, and we heard from VBG CEO Tami Erwin and SVP of Consumer Device Marketing Brian Higgins.
Thursday: We shared the powerful and touching story of V Teamer Tonya House who turned her pain into purpose.
And now for today’s news rundown.
Ukraine Relief
Want to help the people of Ukraine? There are many opportunities to get involved. You can donate by text to the following organizations:
International Rescue Committee - To make a one-time, $25 donation, text UKRAINE to 25383.
UNICEF - To make a one-time, $10 donation, text UKRAINE to 80100.
Salvation Army National Cooperation - To make a one-time, $10 donation, text UKRAINE to 52000.
And, we’re also expanding our international calling, texting and in-country data charges to and from Hungary, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine through next Thursday, March 10.
We’re waiving international charges for residential landline customers to those countries as well. And you don’t have to do anything to take advantage of these offers. Follow this link for more details.
Volunteering to help
While there are various emerging volunteer opportunities related to the situation in Ukraine, it is Verizon’s standard that we vet possible volunteering partners before engaging. In the interim, Red Cross teams are already there on the ground. We encourage V Teamers who are interested in direct support to consider donating to the Red Cross and requesting a Verizon Foundation match for their contributions.
We are also currently identifying impactful volunteer opportunities with vetted organizations to be offered to V Teamers regardless of location, with an eye to longer-term support. Please be sure to access the Volunteer Portal for the latest on volunteer events supporting those impacted by this crisis.
As an example, you can sign up to help assemble medical care packages and participate in a walk with Razom.
Appreciate your teammates
It’s Friday, March 4, which means it's Employee Appreciation Day. Be sure to check out the special Jamboard we set up on Monday. It is so heartwarming to see all of the wonderful notes!
There’s still time and other ways to show some gratitude for your fellow co-workers.
Remember, a small thanks can go a long way.
Investor Day 2022
Yesterday, Hans and many of our senior leaders spoke at our Investor Day event to discuss how we’re investing in the future.
“Our investor day is a prime opportunity for us to present the strategy, the progress and the vision for Verizon and how we are executing in the marketplace and winning with our customers,” said Brady Connor, SVP, Investor Relations.
Watch the full replay of the event here and learn more about the 5 key takeaways from this event.
Mobile World Congress 2022 Recap
We were also making lots of exciting news this week at Mobile World Congress 2022. Verizon Business announced their global managed services portfolio expansion with VMware. In addition, Elise Neel, SVP, New Business Incubation, spoke about robotics and automation, and Francesca Stockton, Aviation Connectivity Product Manager, spoke about the future of drones which will be autonomous and connected to the power of our 5G network.
Unloc winners announced
Congratulations to Nick Cotter of Cotter Agritech, the winner of the 2021 Verizon/Unloc Young Entrepreneurs Challenge. The company specializes in a patented hardware/software solution designed to reduce chemical use in agriculture while also improving productivity and profitability.
Nick fought off strong competition from across Europe to win more than $13,000 of funding, plus a business mentor package and entry to the One Young World 2022.
Upcoming IWD event
Don’t forget to tune in to the International Women’s Day event with Women’s CoLab and Bustle on Tuesday, March 8, at 12 PM ET. Hosted by Up To Speed’s Raquel Wilson and Diana Alvear, the event will feature a series of panels and discussions with women who have faced and conquered their own challenges throughout their career. Panelists will include leaders from Chipotle, Walmart, Kimberly-Clark and Verizon.
Get ready for The Weeknd
For fans of the musical artist The Weeknd, we’ve got great news: Starting Monday, Verizon Up members have exclusive access to a presale of The Weeknd’s After Hours Til Dawn tour. The presale lasts through Wednesday, March 9. Get all the details here.
Robocall Dance Challenge
Speaking of the weekend, let’s start it off right with some dancing. Hip hop dancer Fikshun created a TikTok dance challenge to show us just how happy life is with the peace of mind you’ll get from our CallFilter app. So what do you say? Do you have the moves to win our Robocall Dance Challenge?
If you have any questions, email them to live@verizon.com.
