Vizergy boasts employees from all over not only Florida – but the whole country. We were so excited to bring one of our teams together recently for Marriott Team Week, where they got to get to know each other better, learn and grow as a team, and most importantly, give back to the community.
The highlight of the week was getting to volunteer with a local organization called Rethreaded. Rethreaded helps aid, train, and employ victims of human trafficking to give them new skills, solid employment, and a fresh start in life. In addition to this work with survivors, Rethreaded sells products made exclusively by women who have survived human trafficking in their gift shop, located in the historic Springfield neighborhood in Jacksonville.
One of the most interesting parts of the volunteer opportunity was the educational component. Our team got to watch the first part of a comprehensive educational video about human trafficking that they were comissioned to make by the Florida state government. The team got to learn what human trafficking is, who is affected, and how to spot human trafficking in the real world. As professionals in the hospitality industry, we believe it’s important to be aware of the issues facing our industry, and human trafficking is one of the biggest ongoing issues within hospitality.
In addition to our training video, we got to help with the production of items for Rethreaded! The women of rethreaded make a variety of products – scarves, dog toys, leather notebooks and folios, handbags, and more – all out of recycled goods. Because of an awesome partnership between Rethreaded and Southwest Airlines, Rethreaded has an endless supply of old airline seats that need deconstructing. Our team got to work with some trusty seam rippers (and some old fashioned elbow grease) and took what used to be airline seats and turned it into large, flat leather that Rethreaded could use to make some of their awesome products.
After a long day of ripping seams, the team headed to Strings Sports Brewery to relax, enjoy drinks and snacks, and get to chat with some of the executives at Vizergy. We loved the opportunity to come together, especially with so many of our remote employees, and learn, volunteer, and get closer as a team. We were so happy to work with Rethreaded and help them with their mission to create opportunities and provide assistance for the survivors of human trafficking.
