Life Happens.
We Respond.
2022 IMPACT REPORT
Our Impact
Dear friend of the Red Tab Foundation,
While we may have just closed out the 40th year of the Red Tab Foundation (RTF), our work is timeless. Having each other’s backs will never go out of style. While major crises may come
and go, the simple everyday hardships that can happen to any of us will persist. And so will our safety net.
At RTF, we do what it takes to address challenges as they change and evolve. Our model gives us the flexibility to create solutions tailormade to the needs of our community. This year alone, we pivoted to help with an unprecedented level of instability, from the Ukrainian refugee crisis to the shifting reproductive care landscape, growing inflation, and more. Our community’s generosity of spirit – and your dollars at work - are what make it all possible.
This year, RTF hit an incredible milestone as our biggest fundraising year ever, bringing in $2.1 million in support. This community stepped up to give more than ever before, unlocking grants to support 1,880 emergencies. Each of those dollars went directly to the people who need it most, granting $2.2 million to help make rent, put food on the table, cover medical emergencies, relocate, and rebuild.
We invite you to take a look at the good work you created this year and continue to partner with us in the years ahead. We look forward to expanding our portfolio and working with you to meet the challenges of tomorrow.
Warm Regards,
Pete Haas Jr.
Board President
Jenny Calvert Rodriguez
Executive Director
John Booker
Philanthropy Lead
OUR MISSION
RTF is a public, nonprofit foundation that assists LS&Co. employees, retirees and their families facing unexpected financial hardships. RTF provides financial assistance, education, and preventative programs to help these individuals in their efforts to maintain their financial, physical and emotional health.
By the Numbers
Where We Help
How We Support
Helping Refugees Get Back on Their Feet
When Inna Kazakova, a stylist from Poland, found herself supporting family members impacted by the crisis in Ukraine, she applied for a hardship grant. “The money I sent my father helped him buy much-needed medicines for family, including my grandmother, in a city now under occupation. Part also went to buy a cheap car, as she travels to help people in the occupied territories. As for my mother, when she left Ukraine, she took nothing but the cat and some documents. My grant also helped purchase her clothes, shoes, and everything she needed to get settled with me in Poland,” Inna told us. One of the beautiful things about our work is that so often, RTF assistance is used to bolster not just individuals, but entire communities. RTF’s grant-giving in Europe has increased 21% this year.
From Medical Emergencies to Everyday Hardships
Last year, Yan Shu Pan, a Store Manager in Shanghai, was left reeling when in a few short months, her mother developed a brain tumor shortly before her father passed. The bills were piling high. “I felt helpless and confused until I remembered about the Red Tab Foundation. When my family and I needed help, the company and my colleagues really cared. The assistance came very fast, even when Shanghai was closed for two months due to pandemic lockdowns. The Red Tab Foundation is like a friend, and it helped me move forward when I felt like I had no backup plan." 13% of RTF assistance last year went to support medical-related requests, one of our top categories of assistance.
Retiree Support & Growing Inflation
“With the economy and inflation at an all-time high I am glad RTF is in my corner. I am a 72-year-old retiree on a very fixed income and I have reached out to RTF on more than one occasion for help with things from winter heating to funeral expenses. They always find a way to help. Thank you for all you do for me,” shares retiree Linda Gentry. 50% of RTF support goes to LS&Co. retirees, often former manufacturing employees who spent 20+ years making LS&Co.’s iconic products. Outside of hardship support, RTF offers extra hearing, eye and dental services to help the elderly retirees that helped make LS&Co. what it is today. This year, we granted $1.1M to Retirees, the most ever in RTF history.
Red Tab Savers: Building Financial Safety Nets
“It’s so good to work for a company that helps you out. These little things make a big difference. I was able to save money to pay off my credit card debts. It’s amazing, I only put up $240, but I got $500 back,” says Juvilyn Douglas, a distribution employee in Canada. Red Tab Savers, our proactive, matched savings program designed to help employees build their own safety nets, underwent a redesign in FY22. We worked with the experts at Blackrock’s Emergency Savings Initiative to improve the program which has already helped employees save over $1M. In the fiscal year 2023, Red Tab Savers will fully relaunch, gearing up to help more employees than ever across the US and Canada build a habit of saving. Red Tab Savers has helped 1,960 participants practice the habit of saving since it began in 2015.
Grant Giving Over Time
RTF Support Grows 9x in South Africa
In 1995, LS&Co. opened our manufacturing facility at Epping with the intention of providing jobs and opportunities to those who had suffered under apartheid. There may be no place where RTF makes a more life-changing difference than in South Africa, where RTF grants have grown 9x over the past 3 years. RTF Case Manager Lavinia Crawford-Browne works on the ground near the Cape Town manufacturing facility. “The South African experience of apartheid – where people of color were not full citizens – continues to have a profound effect on our people. Unfortunately, education, health, and housing remain low in the national budget and the majority still struggle to survive,” Lavinia tells us. “Inequities of this nature create generations-long impacts as people struggle to get ahead. Marginalized communities simply don’t have the safety net built by generations before them that others do.”
Crises of the day including the impact of the pandemic, an uptick in natural disasters, and crime contributed to an increased need for assistance last year.
“RTF responded generously to requests for help, which are typically related to health issues, death in the family, plus also fires and floods,” Lavinia shares. “RTF interventions have completely changed the lives of these employees and their families in need. These grants provide employees and their families some sort of security and hope and they are so sincerely grateful. Some ask if they can give to RTF, and if they are already giving, ask to increase their donation.”
Red Tab grants in South Africa have skyrocketed from the few dozen we would receive per year prior to 2018. This year alone, we have responded to 972 emergencies. Beyond greater hardships, this increase has been driven by trust built by Lavinia as the local face of RTF, close partnership with HR, and the 2018 RTF-led employee visit in-country. South Africa is a model for the type of support RTF can offer in support of communities around the world where LS&Co. operates.
Nandipha Qekeleshe, who received help purchasing eyeglasses.
Irene Slinger’s roof repair.
Mpho Matjebe and family, who received help with medical treatments.
South Africa Grant Giving
Top South Africa Grant Categories
EMERGENCY
HOME REPAIR
ILLNESS OR INJURY
FUNERAL
EXPENSES
COVID
HARDSHIPS
Where We’re Going
Our Commitments for the Year Ahead
Create Equitable &
Easy Access to RTF
We want RTF to be top of mind for every LS&Co. employee and retiree who needs us. That means continuing to build awareness of our programs internationally and adapting our processes to be locally relevant.
Stay High Impact
& Responsive
Our goal is to always meet the needs of our clients at the moment. We will continue to build new grant categories in response to changing circumstances, to help our employee population whether their own emergencies.
Be LS&Co.’s Shining Star
RTF is one thing that makes LS&Co. a different kind of community; we show selflessness and support one another when times get tough. We will keep building points of connection for dispersed teams to fully embody LS&Co.’s values and culture.
Building the Industry
855 organizations utilized the Hardship Fund Playbook >
RTF is known as the original hardship foundation, but we most certainly won’t be the last. The strength of the LS&Co. brand gives us an outsized voice when it comes to influencing others in giving back. We take our industry leadership role seriously and aim to do what we can so that more companies have the tools to support their own employees. When Gibson Guitars decided it was time to start their Gold Top Foundation, they reached out to RTF for guidance in setting up their program.
“Apart from serving the unexpected and essential needs of LS&Co. team members, the Red Tab Foundation is clearly serving another, perhaps unintended, need as a role model for other companies to follow. Drawing on the insight, inspiration, and incredible passion from the Red Tab Foundation Leadership Team, this year we launched the Gold Top Foundation (a reference to our iconic guitar). It has started a movement that is making a difference already that we can all be proud of for generations to come!”
James 'JC' Curleigh, President & CEO of Gibson Guitars
RTF was awarded one of one of LS&Co.'s highest honors in recognition of their pandemic response work in FY22.
Our Supporters
“Seeing first-hand how the resources provided by RTF directly impact the lives of our employees gives me the great privilege to continue to create awareness and encourage the use of this program. Providing support to our employees during times of need is not only honorable but also strengthens our pride to be a part of an exemplary organization. I’m so happy to see RTF coming to life more and more each year in LATAM. Muchas Gracias on behalf of LATAM”
Paris Steps up to Fundraise $10k for RTF
Last year, 15 global fundraisers were hosted to give back through RTF in Paris, Singapore, New York, and beyond. 100% of the donations from those events went into the pockets of grantees. “At our Paris sale in March 2022, some colleagues hadn’t seen each other in person for a very long time so it felt like a true ‘back together’ moment for the office,” organizer Mathieu Mahmoun, Manager of Corporate Affairs for South Europe, told us. “I feel I’ve joined a company where there is this invisible thread of solidarity between colleagues globally which tells a lot about how we value people here. Wherever you are, if life gets tough and you need help, here is an option, within your own company, to reach out for help.”
“Having been at LS&Co. for 12 years, I’ve met many individuals that have benefited from support and assistance. Those stories hit my core every time. I have worked in many companies and never found a community and a culture of care like LS&Co. RTF is just that...it’s there to show we deeply care about the people we work with. This is why I give.”
The People Who Make It Happen
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Peter E. Haas Jr.
Board PresidentJeff Harlowe
Vice President
Retired LS&Co. ExecutiveSanjeev Mohanty
LS&Co. SVP, Managing Director, U.S - CanadaKelly McGinnis
LS&Co. SVP & Chief Communications OfficerLiz O'Neill
LS&Co. EVP & Chief Operations OfficerHeidi Manes
LS&Co. SVP, Chief Transformation OfficerScott White
LS&Co. VP, People Operations and RewardsRichard Gomes
Senior Director, DTC Communications,
Customer Service & TrainingLisa Stirling
Chief Financial Officer
LS&Co. Global ControllerBradley Haas
LS&Co. Family CouncilSusan Brennan
Retired LS&Co. ExecutiveMolly Buckley
Retired LS&Co. ExecutiveTom Fanoe
Retired LS&Co. Executive -
Kim Almeida
Director, Worker Wellbeing, Levi Strauss FoundationKathy Farmer
LS&Co. VP, BenefitsDavid Jedrzejek
LS&Co. Chief Counsel, CommercialCate McCarthy
Regional Director, LSA RetailSophie Ponet
Corporate Affairs Communications Director, North Europe -
Jenny Calvert Rodriguez
Executive DirectorJohn Booker
Global Philanthropy LeadBryce Kumagai
Global Programs ManagerElla Clausen
Sr. Specialist, Marketing & Communications
Dina Lee
Finance and Grants CoordinatorCASE MANAGERS
Lavinia Crawford-Browne
Case Manager, South AfricaTeddy Dworakowski
Case Manager, EuropeEmily Karakas
Case Manager, United StatesAlbert Hernandez
Case Manager, United States
Our Donors
*LS&Co provides $650K in funding for our operations each year. That means every dollar donated goes directly to help an employee or retiree in need.
2022 Donors
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Chip Bergh
Levi Strauss Foundation
Peter and Ginnie Haas
-
Colleen and Bob Haas
Dan Haas
Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund
Levi Strauss & Co.
Mimi and Peter Haas Fund
-
Heidi Manes
Kelly McGinnis
Kira and Bradley Haas
Margaret Haas
Seth Ellison
Seth Jaffe
Tracy Layney
-
Anne Madison
Bill Eaton
David and Paulette Friedman/Meyer
Elise Haas
Elizabeth O'Neill
Emil Knopf
Nicolas Versloot
Richard Gomes
Robert Eckert
Robert Friedman
Stephen Neal
Ted Geballe
Wally Haas
-
Betsy and Roy Eisenhardt
Chris McCormick
Harmit Singh
Jeffrey Hogue
Jill Beraud
Jim Ansel
Joshua Prime
Karen Riley-Grant
Karyn Hillman
Ken and Linda Larson/Adams
Lindsay Webbe
Nicholas Meyer Haas
Pavan Pamidimarri
Peter Jacobi
Ralph Briskin
Scott White
Diana Dimitian
Thomas Tusher
Tom Fanoe
-
Adam Woollerson
Beth Ward Francesconi
Carl Von Buskirk
Casey Blalock
Cathleen Mccarthy
David Cardiff
Jeffrey Eggert-Peluso
Jennifer Sey
Jenny Ming
Jim Phillips
Jin Yang
John DeMartino
Karen McGee
Ken Sirlin
Kirsten Koob
Lance Relicke
Lucia Marcuzzo
Marc Rosen
Mark Grovich
Melissa DiRienzo
Michaela Maychrowitz
Nagarajan Nagumallu
Natalie MacLennan
Nathaniel Eubanks Jr
Rene Saroukhanoff
Robert Caldwell
Sanjeev Mohanty
Scott Clarke-Bryan
Spencer Fleischer
Thomas Rafferty
Todd Tomlitz
Walter Fong
-
Aaron Boyd
Alex Chrysiliou
Amanda Gardner
Ann Ure
Anna Walker
Anne Spletzer
Ashley Lang
Barb Murrer
Bart Bright
Bart Sights
Bettina A Sapien
Bev Beaudreault
Bob Gargani
Bob Siegel
Brett Glickman
Brian Jones
Brian Secrest
Chad Hinson
Christiane Kunkel
Christopher Jackman
Cynthia Wainwright
Daniel Wenzel
Danny Travis
David Cantrell
David Jedrzejek
David Martin
Dennis Egge
Donna Heiden
Doug Flores
Estelle Layton
Fatima Angeles
Francis Arrastia
Garrett Petraia
Heather Roussel
Heather Walsh
Hubert Van Nuvel
Jacquelyn Major
Janine Chilton-Faust
Jeffery Harlowe
Jeffrey Catania
Jenny Rodriguez
Jill Guenza
Jim Chriss
Jim Clopton
Joan Buchanan
JoAnne Nichols
Joaquin Ngarangad
John Booker
John DeShano
John Massey
John Prendergast
Joseph Henwood
Karen Scholl
Kathleen Hodskins
Katie O'Shea
Kenneth Fox
Kevin Mckenna
Lauren Victoria Johnson
Len Bennett
Leo isotalo
Lisa Stirling
Manuel Baigorri
Margaret Moster
Margie Hanselman
Marie-Hélène Azar
Marina Wright
Mary Jane Luck
Mary McCurdy
Mary Palafox
Melvin Franty
Michael Kleine
Michael Mecham
Michael Womack
Michelle Williamson
Ming Zhao
Molly Buckley
Morgan Duquette
Nada Grkinich
Nealan Afsari
Nuholt Huisamen
Orla Hollub
Pascal Senkoff
Patricia Pineda
Paul Alan Dillinger
Paul O'Neill
Peter Lewin
Philip Marineau
Phillip Maultsby
Randolph Ray Ross
Richard Hurren
Ron Durand
Salvador Garcia
Sam Espindola
Sameer Koul
Santiago Cucci
Shane Hanna
Shannon Davidson
Shannon Slaton
Sharon Maloney
Shaun Gilfoy
Sheena Kunhiraman
Stacy Doren
Stephen Berube
Stephen Kelley
Stephen Liem
Susan Brennan
Timothy Wightman
Torsten Mueller
Trina Freeman
Tyler Harris
Victoriano Molina
Vivien Park
Wade Webster
Yael Garten
