As the year comes to a close and techies everywhere make a final push to ship code, close deals and tie up loose ends, four local tech companies are making time to give back to their local communities. Throughout the holiday season — and all year long — these Colorado teams can be found hosting food drives, building homes with Habitat for Humanity, tutoring the next generation of engineers and building bikes for second graders in Title 1 schools. We caught up with them to learn how they’re lending a hand to the cities they love and how that spirit of giving shows up in their everyday work.
As a marketplace for business catering, ezCater knows a thing or two about food and the importance it has in people’s lives. So it seems fitting that the Denver-based company would focus its philanthropic efforts on feeding those less fortunate. People Generalist Nadege Toomey said it’s a year-round effort on the part of her team, which partners with a range of local food banks and rescue groups.
How does your company give back to the local community, both during the holidays and throughout the year?
Our ezVolunteer committee organizes monthly volunteer opportunities for our team all year long. We partner with organizations that fight hunger: food banks, food rescue groups, etc. In Denver alone, we have worked with The Urban Farm, Food For Thought, Metro Caring, JEFFCO Eats and GrowHaus, and have hosted multiple food drives for Project Angel Heart and Food Bank of the Rockies. We worked with a pit crew at this summer’s BBQ festival and donated all tips to Metro Caring. Plus, we always encourage team members to share causes and organizations they are passionate about supporting so we can explore new opportunities moving forward.
We partner with organizations that fight hunger.”
How is this “spirit of giving” reflected in your company culture and the way your team works together?
A common thread throughout our teams is the desire to make things better for each other and our customers. “Aim higher and make it better” is one of our core values. We really embrace an all-hands-on-deck approach, and I see that not only in how our teams work together but also in the community our Denver office has become.
For example, this summer a team member suggested that we hold a diaper drive as we had a large number of teammates growing their families — it was a hit! It’s not always about giving something material, either. At ezCater, I’m given tremendous autonomy, the ability to give feedback and see it implemented to make things better, as well as the opportunity to take initiative and grow my career.
Coming together as a team to do something good isn’t just an opportunity to touch the lives of those in need; it’s also an opportunity to build deeper relationships with colleagues. Office Manager Helena Czaban shared some of the charitable initiatives her team has been a part of recently and how they’ve helped strengthen Mersive’s bonds as a team — and with the Denver community.
How does your company give back to the local community, both during the holidays and throughout the year?
Some examples of how we have given back this year include serving lunch at Denver Rescue Mission, hunger-fighting with MetroCaring, building bikes with Wish for Wheels and tutoring STEM programs to local students. We recently just kicked off our first annual food and hygiene product drive for Denver Rescue Mission. Employees are donating products, and Mersive is matching a monetary donation to each product. Moving into 2020, our goal is to commit to a company-wide initiative each quarter and a 40-percent increase in participation in our volunteer time off plan.
We recently just kicked off our first annual food and hygiene product drive for Denver Rescue Mission.”
How is this “spirit of giving” reflected in your company culture and the way your team works together?
Mersive culture is deeply rooted in collaboration and inclusion. We are always looking for opportunities to connect with our local and global communities. Our teams, both local and remote, are encouraged to volunteer together using the generous VTO plan that we offered. Serving together builds our relationships both with the community and one another.
According to Recruiting Manager Meghan Munzel, a spirit of generosity is woven into the fabric of Recurly’s company culture. Whether they’re collaborating on project in the office, working together to clean up a Boulder park or pooling their resources to buy holiday gifts for LGBTQ+ youth, the Boulder-based team finds ways to give back to each other and their community.
How does your company give back to the local community, both during the holidays and throughout the year?
Recurly participates in quarterly volunteer or donation events every year. For the past few Decembers, Recurly has partnered with A Precious Child, a non-profit organization that assists families who are faced with difficult home situations, such as abuse and neglect. In December 2019, we partnered with Out Boulder County for the first year to purchase holiday gifts for LGBTQ+ youth. Out Boulder County specializes in educating, advocating and providing services, programs and support for Boulder County's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities.
Outside of the holiday season, Recurly partners with Boulder Parks and Recreation at least once a year. In the past, Recurlians have planted seeds, weeded gardens and mended fences in the Boulder area. Recurly gives back to the engineering community by attending events such as Turn IN Insight Hour to assist in preparing jobseekers for the market, as well as multiple tutoring events throughout the year.
We partnered with Out Boulder County to purchase holiday gifts for LGBTQ+ youth.”
How is this “spirit of giving” reflected in your company culture and the way your team works together?
Recurly is a huge advocate for team collaboration in our everyday culture. We encourage all Recurlians to “Be Mindful,” which is one of the five values our company was built on. Being mindful of fellow Recurlians and working together to meet our collective goals is reflected by our accountability to one another and our community. Whether our team works cross-functionally to meet a business goal or the team comes together to raise money to donate a gaming laptop for LGBTQ+ youth, Recurlians are always in the “spirit of giving.”
Church Community Builder isn’t just dedicated to serving ministries; the company, which recently merged with Auckland, New Zealand-based Pushpay, is also dedicated to serving the very community in which its team works and plays: Colorado Springs. According to Head of Customer Success Heather Sharp, her team partners with a number of local organizations throughout the holidays to support the homeless, and employees are encouraged to keep the spirit of giving alive all year long by taking paid time off to volunteer in the community.
How does your company give back to the local community, both during the holidays and throughout the year?
Church Community Builder really values giving back to our local community, and we put this into action in a number of ways.
We’re long-term partners with Mary's Home, a program focused on housing, life skills and career development for homeless single mothers. This December was our fifth year of “Bring Christmas to Mary’s Home,” where we decorate the homes for the families in residence.
Our Springs Rescue Mission donation collection contest is another way our company celebrates giving during the Christmas season. I know the holidays have arrived when our office Christmas trees are surrounded by the 10,000-plus items our employees bring in each year to bless our homeless neighbors. The piles spread across the floor as the teams challenge each other to out-give our last year’s totals.
I was among 30 employees who volunteered with the local chapter of Habitat For Humanity.”
How is this “spirit of giving” reflected in your company culture and the way your team works together?
Our company values include “Give More Than You Take” and “Fight For Amazing Experiences.” In the spirit of these values, our company provides every employee with up to five days of paid time off to do something tangible to improve the conditions for orphans, widows or vulnerable families. In 2019, almost half of our employees took advantage of this benefit. I was among 30 employees who volunteered with the local chapter of Habitat For Humanity, where we spent three days building homes in our community. It was great fun to spend time with hammers, saws, and paintbrushes in our hands — and no computers in sight! Our work helped several homes progress toward completion, and we’re proud of that. The highlight of the experience for me was the camaraderie that developed on-site with my fellow associates.
