Even during a time filled with time off requests, holiday events and the impending close of Q4, Austin's tech sector has still managed to find time to embrace its philanthropic spirit over the course of the holiday season.
Check out these eight Austin companies that shared with us how their teams are giving back this season to support our community.
Throughout the year, WP Engine's Give Back Committee organizes charitable events for the company to participate in. The past two years in a row, the company has won the Central Texas Food Bank Canville contest — a canned food drive competition that entails building a structure from donated cans. They also host ongoing blood drives at the office and volunteer days. Last month, they raised over $12,000 for men's health during their participation in Movember.
"One of our core values is 'Aspiring to Lead, Committed to Give Back' and we take this to heart," said John Caldwell, software engineer and co-chair of WP Engine's Give Back Committee. "We believe that participating in community efforts allows us to lead by positive example and make such a valuable impact to those around us. Beyond the direct impact that our community efforts make, we also believe that participating in giving back helps our own employees to become actively engaged in community efforts, and to grow as good citizens and leaders."
For the past seven years, HomeAway has participated in its annual "Homes for the Holidays" Blitz Build initiative. For over three weeks beginning at the end of November, 150 HomeAway employees volunteer to build a home for Austin Habitat.
Tiffany Lee, HomeAway's talent brand manager, said that most employees will use one of their two charitable giving days during the build, which are given to the team in addition to their vacation and sick time. Volunteers recently finished work on the house, ending with a dedication ceremony to the receiving family.
Four times a year, OnPrem participates in outreach activities to support Austin initiatives. In December, they raised money and items to donate gift baskets to foster families in conjunction with Starry Foster and Adoption Care. The gift baskets help foster families who give their time, their homes and their lives to help children in need of a loving home.
Katelyn Parker, OnPrem's technical recruiter, said that last month, one OnPrem employee raised $1,834 alone for the Los Angeles Walk/Run to End Epilepsy. And in September, the company raised more than $2,000 to support CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children) services of Central Texas. Team members and their families also participated in the CASA 5K Superhero Fun Run to help achieve that goal.
This season, the restaurant management software team at Compeat chose two organizations to serve, including No Kid Hungry and Ronald McDonald House of Central Texas. On Giving Tuesday, Compeat donated to Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign, while encouraging their network of employees, customers and partners to contribute, too. On Dec. 9, volunteers spent their day decorating Christmas trees for each room at the Ronald McDonald House and delivering them to families.
“I am awestruck by what each of these organizations do on a daily basis," said Jeffery Stone, CEO. "It’s an honor to step away from our business and come together as a team to help these organizations with their mission to serve others. We are in the service industry, so it only makes sense that we serve others as often as we can. It is so incredibly rewarding for each of us as individuals but even more rewarding for us as a team.”
Photos from participating companies.
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