It was a busy summer at ApplyBoard! We had lots of good news to celebrate: ApplyBoard turned five years old, secured C$100M Series C funding, reached 500 employees across more than 20 countries, unveiled a new logo, and announced a C$70M in Series C Funding extension and new partnership with ETS!
With all of this exciting news, we also came up with new ways to come together as a team while working remotely. Our three ApplyCommittees—ApplyFun, ApplyCare, and ApplyCulture—were hard at work planning events and initiatives. In addition to our Pride Month Celebrations, a Lunch and Learn in support of Black Lives Matter, and the Co-Op’s fundraiser in support of Nutrition for Learning, here is what else we were up to this summer.
Wellness Wednesdays 🏃♂️ 🥗
To support ApplyBoardians while working from home, our Marketing and Employee Success Teams launched a new initiative called ‘Wellness Wednesdays’.
Each month, team members were invited to a 1-hour session which offered them support in areas they were struggling with while working from home.
For the first installment in this series, Robin Bender from Mega Health Canada hosted a self-care session, sharing tips and leading the team through self-reflection exercises.
My favorite quote from this session was: ‘It’s easy to go for a walk on a beautiful day, but prioritizing your self-care and making a real change means not sabotaging yourself and talking yourself out of going for a walk on the grey days, because that’s when you might need it most’ —Cait
Next, we welcomed a Zumba coach, who helped our team raise the roof (and our heart rates!) with a mid-day exercise break.
ApplyBoard team members participating in virtual Zumba.
Lastly, one of our own team members, Katie, led a discussion on food and mindful eating. This ‘Kitchen Khat’ gave team members the opportunity to share healthy eating tips, exchange recipes, and share nutrition resources.
ApplyBoard Webinar Specialist, Katie K, leading virtual Kitchen chats from her kitchen!
Canada Day 🇨🇦
With our global headquarters located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada Day is a big celebration for our team! To mark Canada’s 153rd birthday, our ApplyFun committee brought the team together over lunch for a ‘Canada D’eh’ trivia challenge. This was the ultimate test of our knowledge of Canadian geography, history, pop culture, and slang. There were three big winners, who walked away with prizes from local small businesses.
The team also had some fun putting together a Canadian taste test and slang video, challenging team members from across the company to try some Canadian foods, and guess the meaning of different slang terms.
Bolas de Fuego 🔥🔥
At ApplyBoard, we love learning about the cultural traditions of our team members. This summer, our ApplyCulture committee brought awareness to a new cultural tradition, Bolas de Fuego!
Sharing more about this fiery festival was Dani Castillo, an Academic Application Coordinator at ApplyBoard. Dani is a first-generation El Salvadorian-Canadian, and this festival originates in her family’s hometown—Nejapa, El Salvador!
To help us learn more about this cultural tradition, Dani hosted a Lunch and Learn, sharing insights on El Salvador and the festival’s history. Known as the ‘fireball festival,’ this event recognizes the battle between the town’s patron saint and the Devil, and will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2022.
Daniella C leads ApplyBoard Staff through a Lunch and Learn on Bolas de Fuego.
International Team—Trivia Challenges 🙋♀️
ApplyBoard has over 500 staff located in more than 20 countries. In addition to our Kitchener headquarters, we have satellite offices in Gurgaon, India, and Beijing, China.
To bring together these teams, our ApplyFun committee hosted their first-ever GLOBAL team trivia! ApplyBoardians from across the world joined in on a Kahoot Trivia challenge, testing our knowledge on Bollywood and India Independence Day!
Team members from around the world participating in a Kahoot Trivia Challenge.
National Chicken Wing Day 🍗
In 1964, a food genius named Teressa Bellissimo created what many of us hold near and dear 56 years later: the chicken wing.
In July, ApplyFun honoured this culinary revolution by celebrating National Chicken Wing Day! The committee cooked up a fun video, testing ApplyBoardians’ knowledge of each other. The catch? Each time they answered a question incorrectly, they had to take a bite of a wing that got progressively spicier with each round!
It sure has been a summer of fun at ApplyBoard, and we are grateful to our staff and ApplyComittee volunteers for keeping us engaged and connected while working remotely. We are looking forward to more fun events coming up in the next few months!
Want to join in on the fun? We are hiring! Visit applyboard.com/careers to view our open roles.
