Each year, our company’s Community Giving Initiative empowers employees to transform individual passions into meaningful community support. The program invites Urban Scientists to nominate a nonprofit close to their hearts and take part in at least four hours of paid volunteer service. After completing their volunteer time and sharing a reflection on the experience, Urban Science contributes a $500 corporate donation to the selected organization. In Rome, Italy, Urban Scientist Giulia Rea used her paid volunteer day to support SB Teatro, a cultural collective dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices and building community through theater.

“I chose to support SB Teatro because I support this wonderful organization’s mission and its leaders,” Giulia said. “They’re trustworthy, and they’re constantly trying to improve the world we live in.”

A Local Theater with a Broad Mission

SB Teatro operates two cultural spaces across Rome, one of which was recently opened. The nonprofit offers comedy and improv courses for adults, youth workshops and end-of-year performances. To make its programs accessible to all, they also provide discounted tickets for university students and free enrollment to those with financial constraints.

For Giulia, these programs create something deeper than entertainment. “It’s a concrete way to help people who don’t easily find space in this period and in this country,” she said. “You see the positive effects of theater and community practice on the people who participate.”

In true Urban Science fashion, Giulia spent her volunteer day helping the SB Teatro team strengthen its operations. “I helped them create an Excel file,” she explained. “For people involved in creative teams, Excel files are monsters—they are often unfamiliar territory and people who don’t use them every day often have difficulty maximizing their potential.”

As the day went on, Giulia joined an evening rehearsal that brought her closer to the community she came to serve. “I realized a sense of peace,” she recalled. “It was a safe space—light and full of happiness.”

Giulia said at that moment, she captured the spirit of what SB Teatro does best. “While the small group within the organization had only known each other for a few months, they had already built a community. It was fantastic.”

Maria Caterina Catroppa and Ornella Lorenzano, both teachers at SB Teatro, said the structure of Urban Science’s Community Giving Initiative truly made a difference. “Giulia’s company allowed us to have time…that would normally be a work day for her (as for us). This met our needs at the perfect time,” they shared.

The Power of Participation

Reflecting on her experience, Giulia said the Community Giving Initiative helped her see her work differently. “This initiative has given me a renewed sense of pride in this company,” she said. “Without it, I would work—and that’s it. With this initiative, I can see other realities.” She believes the impact is mutual: for her, it represents a sense of growth, whereas for SB Teatro, it signifies a meaningful contribution to the community.

“Being able to work with Giulia…has taught us new things,” Maria and Ornella added. “We hope we’ve contributed at least a little to her personal growth by showing her how small gestures can truly change the world, especially when it comes to culture and safe places for marginalized or vulnerable people.”

A Lasting Impression

Giulia hopes Urban Science’s Community Giving Initiative continues to make an impact in the areas surrounding the company’s global office locations – and beyond. “It’s very helpful for the world,” she said. “I shared my skills, and they filled my heart with their space and people.” Her words reflect what the Community Giving Initiative was designed to do: connect Urban Scientists with the people and places that make communities stronger. ここをクリック to learn more about how Urban Scientists are making a positive impact in the communities they visit, work and call home.