As we approach the one year anniversary of a global shutdown, it feels particularly meaningful to reflect on the seismic shifts, challenges, and unexpected victories that have emerged throughout these last 12 months.

Here at Together, we're grateful that we've been able to weather the storm, keeping our heads down as we support our clients, bring new visions to life, and even explore our own brand shift.

There is no better time to shine the spotlight on our unbelievable clients—particularly those who have been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading our nation and our globe toward a healthier, more sustainable future. We admire their resiliency and their swift action during this time of need, and today, we want to take a moment to share their stories.

Red Rabbit

For the past 16 years, Red Rabbit has been a made-from-scratch school meal provider that promotes nutritious meals and culturally-relevant food representation in New York City schools with largely Black and Brown populations. But with the onset of the pandemic and schools shutting down, the organization's approach to serving their school partners needed to shift—and quickly.

Like so many businesses during the pandemic, Red Rabbit was called to reconsider how they could best embody their brand values of food justice and equitable access for all by repurposing their mission and connecting with meaningful organizations. The answer? Furthering their goal of providing nutritious meals to those directly affected by the pandemic.

In the early months of 2020, Red Rabbit shifted to not just making meals for kids, but for adults, too. As schools transformed to food hubs providing meals to emergency workers, their children, and other community members in need, the Red Rabbit team connected with City Harvest, World Central Kitchen, and other nonprofits to pitch in with food preparation. With their switch over to mobile distribution of meal kits, Red Rabbit launched Lunch Box Home Delivery, so students in Black and Brown communities can maintain access to nutritious, scratch-made meals during a time of heightened insecurity.

Today, Red Rabbit serves over 90,000 meals weekly while combating the greater challenge of food insecurity and hunger that looms over many neighborhoods. You can learn more at myredrabbit.com.

FullStack Modular

Our next hero is FullStack Modular, a leading innovator in the real estate landscape. FSM breaks away from traditional construction methods, having developed a turnkey solution to multifamily building through modular construction. And although their cutting-edge values and highly powerful, customizable work positions them well in the realm of urban development, the FSM team identified a need early on in the pandemic that their unique capabilities could support: modular mobile healthcare units to house COVID-19 patients.

Driven by this vision, the FSM team set out to develop modular rooms inside shipping containers to be used for triage, observation, and isolation. So far, they’ve deployed these mobile units in several cities in Mississippi where hospitals have set up camps of modules in adjacent parking lots to create additional space for patients.

And FSM didn't stop there. After restaurants were forced to suspend indoor dining, FSM was also quick to develop and install outdoor dining modules, helping community landmarks like Carbone stay in business. Keep up with FullStack Modular's next moves at fullstackmodular.com.

Dr. Bose

As the Medical Director for the city of Odessa, Texas, as well as a leading emergency physician, veteran, founder, and public speaker, Dr. Bose had one of the busiest years of his life in 2020. From spending hours on the phone advising government officials in D.C., to connecting with healthcare professionals across the globe, to serving as a top medical correspondent on network television, Dr. Bose has been on the frontlines of fighting this pandemic, driving our nation toward a healthier future.

We recently spoke with Dr. Bose about the last few months and how he’s been faring as a frontline professional—and although he’s faced his share of challenges, he’s opting to remain optimistic and determined to get through this experience. "Because it's a novel virus, we don't have a playbook for the coronavirus,” he says. “It goes back to that saying from Mark Twain: 'It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.' It’s been a humbling experience for everyone, even for medical professionals."

Dr. Bose serves on a voluntary basis for the majority of his professional work and further dedicates his time and resources to The Battle Continues, his nonprofit charity advocating for the health needs of veterans. Together is proud to support his generous endeavors and tradition of service. Follow along Dr. Bose's many efforts at DocBose.com.

A great brand is ready for anything.

A brand is not just what you do, but how you act in an ever-changing climate. Dr. Bose put it perfectly: "You fight with the army you have, not the army you want. You prepare in peacetime for wartime. But it's wartime and you need to act now."

We're proud to partner with some truly heroic individuals and organizations doing their part. We're cheering them on every step of the way.