Supportive and charitable
At Zones, supporting and giving back to the community is integral to our business. We're committed to being a good neighbor and a caring member of our global society.
Strengthening Communities
Our company and our team members give generously to the United Way to address immediate needs within our local communities and support long-term solutions to societal challenges. Our team members also participate in the annual United Way Day of Caring and volunteer for opportunities with local organizations such as food banks, veterinary clinics, and children's charities. In 2018, we entered into a partnership with the Special Olympics USA Games, sponsoring housing for 24 athletes at this year's USA Games in Seattle.
Enabling Veterans
We also welcome the opportunity to help our clients in their own charitable endeavors. We recently donated equipment and volunteer hours to support Pacific Gas & Electric's renovation of a service center internet café for homeless veterans in Rancho Cordova, California. Today, 12 new workstations with monitors, web cams, printers, and upgraded networking allow local veterans to use high-speed internet connections and access online classes and training, set up email accounts, research employers, create resumes, apply for jobs online, research benefits, and stay in touch with their peers.
Supporting Children
In Seattle, Portland, and Chicago we work with the Make-A-Wish Foundation to fund wishes for children with serious medical issues.
Fostering Education
In the US, Zones supports a variety of programs at the University of Washington Foster School of Business, where Zones founder and CEO Firoz Lalji has served on the advisory board. Mr. Lalji also underwrites the Lalji Scholarship, which is available to qualified Zones employees who attend the Foster School of Business. Zones maintains a close relationship with UW overall, introducing many of the school's graduates to promising careers in technology, sales, and other disciplines.
The Lalji family are also longstanding and generous supporters of the London School of Economics (LSE), having first endowed a master's degree scholarship in 2009 for students from Uganda. In 2012, their support enabled the establishment of the Programme for African Leadership (PfAL) at LSE, which since then has awarded 80 full master's degree scholarships to African nationals and each year continues to provide a bespoke curriculum of leadership development activities for African graduate students at the School.
In June 2016, through the Lalji Family Foundation, an endowment was established to create the Africa Centre at LSE with a gift of £10 million to support its activities of continued institutional engagement with the African continent. This gift is the largest ever received by the School from an alumnus and takes the Laljis' transformative support of the School to £13 million. The Firoz Lalji Centre for Africa is named in recognition of this remarkable contribution to Africa and Africa scholarship at LSE.
Advancing Health
We target heart disease and diabetes by supporting the American Heart Association and JDRF, and we regularly hold blood drives at our corporate campuses to provide lifesaving donations in our communities.
Celebrating the Arts
Members of the Lalji family are longtime supporters of Seattle's Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Seattle Art Museum, serving on their boards and giving generously to fund their programs.