Taking Action to Change Lives Through Sport

At adidas, our purpose is that ‘Through sport, we have the power to change lives.’ It’s a purpose that guides us to make a positive impact both within the company and beyond. To make a genuine difference to the lives of others – as our purpose statement suggests – we use sport as a catalyst for change, powered internally by our small (yet mighty) Charitable Giving team.

The team is charged with providing financial and non-financial contributions such as adidas products, services, and volunteering opportunities to a host of charities and social initiatives. Their efforts also give our employees the chance to contribute through our internal charitable giving platform ‘adi Does Good.’  

Here’s a look a just a few of the local community projects our people have got involved in thanks to the efforts of our Charitable Giving team.  

WORKING TOGETHER TO SPREAD THE JOY OF SPORT  

This May – in partnership with the adidas Foundation and local football club, 1. FC Nuremberg – we arranged a football tournament at the team’s training campus, tailored for children from special schools connected to their 1. FC Niño program. 

As a continuation of the good work the club and adidas do across the community, we wanted to build on this collaboration, and so this July, we hosted an inclusion football tournament with 1. FC Nuremberg at the adidas headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany. We were able to give these children an experience they will never forget, playing on the same field as their footballing idols. 

Also in July, the Special Olympics Landesspiele Bayern 2025 will take place in our headquarters’ neighboring town of Erlangen, Germany. Here, adidas employees will support as volunteers, showing them just what inclusivity can – and should – look like. Engaging in sports is a great opportunity to overcome inhibitions from both parties, connecting through a common passion.  

And it doesn’t stop there. We’ve also partnered up with the Nuremberg City District Youth Council – organizers of Youth United in Peace 2025, a youth camp for 200 young people from Nuremberg, Nuremberg’s partner cities, and municipalities from all over the world. We want these young people to enjoy everything we have on offer at our campus, giving them a day to experience the power of sport and the positive impact it can have on their lives. Our aim is to promote diversity, sports, and potential career opportunities for young people.

This August, we will open our doors to 20 children with down syndrome (and their families) in partnership with the Deutsche Down-Sportlerfestival – the biggest sporting event for children, teenagers, and adults with down syndrome. We’ll give them a tour of our incredible campus and free up access to a range of sporting activities.

We’ll also give them an exclusive chance to try our recently developed shoes for people with down syndrome. Created in partnership wth Chris Nikic – adidas partner and the first person with down syndrome to complete an Ironman triathlon. Find out more on Chris’ Instagram channel.

PROMOTING ACTION

Beyond involvement with community initiatives, the Charitable Giving team – through the adi Does Good platform – gives our employees the chance to get involved with mentoring programs and donate financially to official fundraisers that provide much needed support to people in countries that have been ravaged by war or fallen victim to natural disasters.   

To further drive employee engagement, this year we held our very first Charitable Giving Partner Day – An event where several of our key partners including Kickfair, Special Olympics Deutschland, and the Red Cross showcased the difference we can all make through our contributions. While based at our HQ in Germany, the event was attended by employees from around the world to ensure increased global impact.

PARTNERING UP FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE

Our charitable efforts continue to grow from strength to strength, underlined in 2023 with the creation of the adidas Foundation – an independent organization and partner to adidas. Their aim is to “Strengthen adidas’ efforts in the areas of fighting discrimination, sport for development and access to sport while engaging people in the challenges of tackling climate change and its implications for the places we play.”

Together, we will further extend our efforts to bring opportunities and hope to those who truly need it. Because through sport we have the power to change lives.

Stay tuned as we continue this journey, because when we invest in our communities, we create opportunities that go beyond sport.