buildOn and Rodan + Fields Team Up to Serve Together in Four U.S. Cities
Ever since Rodan + Fields® first partnered with buildOn in 2014, we’ve been blown away by the skincare company’s innovative, hands-on approach to supporting our mission through their Prescription for Change® (PFC) Foundation. That’s why we are excited to announce that Rodan + Fields will be joining us April 19th-21st in four U.S. cities to serve with our students as part of buildOn’s 36 Hours program.
Rodan + Fields Consultants will travel to Bridgeport, CT; Chicago, IL; Oakland, CA; and the South Bronx, NY, where they will ‘walk in the shoes’ of buildOn students as they explore the challenges facing their schools and communities — and learn first-hand how buildOn is helping youth overcome these challenges. During this fully immersive two-day experience, each participant will be paired with a buildOn student ambassador who will share their own unique perspective on their school, their community and their service with buildOn. Members of the Rodan + Fields team will discuss with teachers and school administrators the issues facing urban youth, tour the students’ neighborhoods, and most importantly, they will serve alongside students as they create the change they wish to see.
Below: The Rodan + Fields team that joined buildOn on Chicago’s West Side in the Spring of 2016 and produced this inspiring video of their 36 Hours experience.
While the program is sure to be enlightening for all involved, this won’t be the first Rodan + Fields 36 Hours. The company has been a part of the program since its inception in 2015, helping buildOn shape the 36 Hours experience. At that point, Rodan + Fields had already donated generously to buildOn’s programs and rallied thousands of people to support buildOn by sharing ‘makeup-free selfies’ during their #RFGoNaked Day campaign, but Rodan + Fields wanted to dive deeper into buildOn’s mission. buildOn invited Rodan + Fields team members to serve in Detroit in 2015, and this first 36 Hours experience proved so impactful for the Rodan + Fields team and buildOn students, that they visited our Chicago programs the next year.
For Rodan + Fields Chairman Amnon Rodan, the decision to join forces with buildOn for 36 Hours was an easy one. “A big part of what we do at Rodan + Fields is create life-changing opportunities. That’s why partnering with buildOn made perfect sense,” Amnon says. “We both believe in the power that one empowered life can have on the world we live in. By bringing together our Consultants and the buildOn students, to complete side-by-side service, everyone learns empathy through engagement for our communities and ourselves.”
buildOn Founder & CEO Jim Ziolkowski agrees: “This partnership has raised the bar for buildOn, it has raised the bar for authentic, meaningful partnerships of any organization. It starts with Rodan + Fields.”
Rodan + Fields Chairman Amnon Rodan shares a meal and discussion with two buildOn Detroit students following an afternoon spent serving food to at a local soup kitchen.
Rodan + Fields has made empowering their team to serve others a central part of their mission. That’s why 36 Hours participants are selected for this Rodan + Fields “Change Maker” trip from Consultants who have been service leaders in their own communities, like Heather Caldwell, from Raleigh, North Carolina. She was deeply moved by the time she spent with Veshawn, a buildOn student from Chicago. “I could walk in Veshawn’s shoes, and see the impact of this program,” Heather says. “He has taught me more about being resilient in life than I could have ever taught him.”
Veshawn and Heather are just two of the buildOn students and Rodan + Fields consultants who formed strong bonds and learned from each other during past 36 Hours events in Detroit and Chicago.
The strong bond created between buildOn students and 36 Hours participants is fostered by the program’s immersive design. By serving alongside our students, taking part in student-led community activities, and learning about students’ lives through intensive roundtable discussions, 36 Hours participants are sure to walk away inspired by the work buildOn students are doing in their neighborhoods — and motivated to continue to create change through service in their own communities.
Be sure to follow buildOn on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and follow the hashtag #RFChangeMaker on April 19th-21st to get an upclose look at what’s sure to be an inspiring experience of service for buildOn and Rodan + Fields.
If your company or organization is interested in joining us for 36 Hours in a buildOn city, please visit buildon.org/36Hours for more information.