The scene was a little like a sale at a shopping mall. “How do I look?” asked one person trying on a new winter coat. “Do I look in style?”
The event was part of a winter coat drive sponsored by WeWork Korea and Uber Korea. Throughout February, staffers at WeWork Korea’s four locations set a goal of collecting 500 new and lightly used winter coats. The drive exceeded its target, bringing in a total of 618 coats, along with other winter accessories like scarves, mittens, sweaters, and blankets.
Uber Korea helped deliver the donations to the Seoul Senior Welfare Center for a bazaar where seniors could come shop for winter wear. More than 140 seniors turned out for the event, staffed by seven WeWork Korea employees.
Several WeWork staffers — General Manager Matt Shampine, Public Affairs Lead Jenny Chan, Managing Director Eugen Miropolski, and Managing Director for Strategy Ole Ruch — personally donated dozens of new coats to the drive.
“One of my favorite things about WeWork is the fact that as the WeWork community grows, so does the impact we can have on the surrounding community,” said Shampine. “We will definitely be rolling out more initiatives.”
For more than half of Korean seniors, a winter coat is an unattainable luxury. Living below the poverty line, they find the cost is too high. So many venture out unprepared for Seoul’s harsh winters.
This isn’t the first time WeWork has worked to help seniors in Seoul. In November the company joined the Korea Legacy Committee to help prepare meals for more than 2,000 seniors.