For the past 6 years, Dolby Laboratories has partnered with us here at Family Giving Tree to support our Holiday Wish Drive. This year, we got the chance to interview them about community involvement and why holiday giving is important to what they do. Read on to get to know one of our many amazing 2020 Holiday Wish Drive Sponsors!

(3 min. read)

Q: Tell us about Dolby Laboratories and your Social Impact work.

A: At Dolby, through innovative research and engineering, we transform the science of sight and sound into spectacular experiences at the cinema, on the go, in the home, and at work. In our Social Impact work, we strive to create positive impacts around the globe. We do this through our Dolby Cares Program, our company-wide initiative focused on two overarching goals: Inspiring the Next Generation of Innovators and Addressing Critical Community Needs.

We support initiatives that address critical needs in our communities worldwide, including providing necessities, job readiness education, mentoring, and support to people experiencing homelessness and other challenges. We also support primary and secondary educational efforts that inspire passion and innovation in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) education with an emphasis on supporting underrepresented groups.

Q: Why Family Giving Tree? What do you value most about working with our organization?

A: We know for thousands of families, this time of year often brings on the additional stress of wanting to provide holiday gifts for their children yet needing to focus resources on basic needs. We value Family Giving Tree’s mission of inspiring community kindness, generosity, and volunteerism, to make the holiday season brighter for individuals and families facing added hardship. Through our partnership with Family Giving Tree, Dolby has supported the Holiday Wish Drive, fulfilling hundreds of wishes, and the Back-to-School program, providing backpacks filled with educational tools to prepare students for learning. This wouldn’t be possible without the dedicated Family Giving tree team.

Q: How do your company values shape your engagement with the community?

A: At Dolby, we believe to truly make a positive impact, we must be active partners in our local communities. We take a holistic approach to social impact, providing volunteer, in-kind, and financial support to nonprofit organizations that are addressing the most critical needs in our global communities.

Through our Dolby Cares Program, employees from our offices in 20+ countries volunteer as individuals, as part of a work team or through our diversity and inclusion employee networks. From tutoring youth and mentoring adults reentering the workforce, to wrapping holiday gifts for children and seniors or assembling backpacks for youth returning back to school, our employees are making our communities stronger.

Q: Our theme this year is ‘Tis the Season to Smile Again! In your own words, why is this the season to smile again?

A: The holiday season may look different this year, but it continues to be a time for us to reflect on all we have to be thankful for and to support people in our communities who are facing added hardships this season. We value partnering with Family Giving Tree to brighten the season for thousands of children, families, and seniors in our immediate communities. Despite the challenges, we’ve seen the resiliency of our communities and the desire of our employees to continue to get involved and give back, leaving us hopeful for the new year.

Q: What is your favorite part of our Holiday Wish Drive?

A: For the past six years, Dolby has partnered with Family Giving Tree, supporting the annual Holiday Wish Drive. In past years, Dolby volunteers gathered together to wrap hundreds of gifts and create cards of encouragement for community members. Employees also donated gifts and money that fulfilled the specific holiday wishes of children and seniors that receive support through Family Giving Tree. Every year we love seeing our office brighten during the holiday season as employees take time to support the Holiday Wish Drive while dressed in festive attire, singing holiday tunes, and enjoying each other’s company.

This year, in addition to providing a grant to fulfill 1,000 holiday wishes for local children, we are hosting a Virtual Giving Tree, encouraging our employees to sponsor the unique wishes of children in our community. While we cannot gather in-person to wrap hundreds of gifts this year, the Virtual Giving Tree helps us get in the holiday spirit by granting wishes that help spread comfort and joy in the community. Dolby is so grateful to the Family Giving Tree and we are proud to help them brighten the season for thousands of people this year.

Learn more about Dolby here.