In 2022, Fanatics introduced Global Volunteer Day, an annual company-wide day where we pause our global operations to give employees the opportunity to volunteer alongside their Fanatics team members to make a lasting impact in their local community. On the inaugural day, Fanatics employees contributed more than 15,000 hours of service, served more than 200 nonprofit organizations, and impacted more than 200,000 people globally. Together, we built houses, planted gardens, taught students, worked with animals, helped those who are food insecure, and so much more! We rolled up our sleeves and truly made a difference.
In 2023, we challenged ourselves to reach more people and create lasting and meaningful change within our local communities. We were able to do just that with a new one-time initiative we called Merch Madness, where we donated 300,000 pieces of apparel, with an estimated original retail value of $15 million, in cities across the US.
In addition to Merch Madness activities, thousands of employees came together as One Fanatics to volunteer at over 200 projects, in 10 countries, volunteering more than 1.2 million minutes in a single day.
Our global volunteer day has also served as the launching pad for our company-wide Global Volunteerism Program. During 2023, we estimate that Fanatics employees volunteered more than 20,000 hours through self-directed volunteering and Fanatics-organized efforts with nonprofit community partners, including the American Red Cross, HideOut Youth Zone, Kick It Out, the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games, Boys and Girls Clubs, and the All In Challenge Foundation. We aim to continue to enhance this program over the coming years. We look forward to continuing to expand our volunteer efforts to make a lasting impact and serve the communities where we live, work, and play.