OE Impact in Action: Volunteer Time Off

Last month, OpenExchange launched its latest HR initiative, Volunteer Time Off. Team members across the United States took time to help their local communities through mentorship, labor, and fundraising. As we reflected on the initiative, some underlying themes came through:

1. Our colleagues are passionate about their local community and are excited to bring their own location to life.
2. Skills and interests of individuals were highlighted that would have otherwise been unknown.
3. This initiative inspired volunteers to commit to longer-term projects with the organizations they supported.

We asked team members to share their experiences. Here are some highlights.

Sasha Chasen , Prospect Park Alliance, Brooklyn, NY

It was awesome to take a VTO day to volunteer with Prospect Park Alliance and help spruce up the park for Spring. We removed some invasive weeds like purple dead nettle and mugwort, and I got to learn more about the alliance's new use of solarization! We helped with a ton of edging throughout the park, and we spent a long time cleaning up one of the main north entrance tunnels.

BUT by the time we wrapped up, the tunnel looked so beautiful – and just in time, because a group of young kids came by for a supervised walk. As they were passing by, I heard one of the guides say, "OH look how beautiful everything looks! All of these nice people are making the park so beautiful for us."?

Katie Newcomb , The Franklin Theater x Autism Career Training, Franklin, TN

I had the pleasure of meeting Bettina Hervey in my new state of Tennessee! I reached out to Bettina about finding a VTO day together since I recently moved to Nashville where she lives. She found us the most amazing opportunity to give back our time!

We volunteered with ACT (Autism Career Training). The mission for this organization is to identify the abilities of their trainees and to transform those abilities into job skills desired by employers.

I loved that we got to be interactive with the families and help out a great cause. I will definitely be volunteering with them again when the offer arises!

Brittany Knouse , Our City Forest, San Jose, CA

Our City Forest's Community Nursery & Training Center is home to thousands of native and non-native tree, shrub, and grass species. All of their plants are available on a tax-deductible donation basis, and visitors can attend workshops on planting, care and propagation.

They are preparing for their annual Spring Fest on May 18th and needed some volunteers to help move baby trees. Me and one other person unloaded ~25 trees from a new delivery and helped to move 60 other trees from the delivery area to their "ready to sell" area. ?

Note to self for next time - wear long sleeves when suggested. One of the species we moved was uber prickly!?

Alex Kieft , Arlington High School Hackathon, Arlington, MA

Students from both the high school and middle school signed up to participate in the second annual AHS Hackathon. In teams of 2-5 they were asked to devise ways to leverage technology to address challenges presented by local community members. As a volunteer mentor, I worked with three of the teams, all of whom were tasked by the school district's Sustainability Coordinator to figure out ways to increase composting and recycling at the high school.

The third group, which ended up winning the grand prize at the end of the day, designed a survey tool that collected data from students about where they ate lunch throughout the school. They then used that data to produce a heat map to identify where new compost bins should be deployed, along with a volunteer sign-up system to coordinate who would collect and empty the bins after lunch.

It was very inspiring to see the enthusiasm and creativity that the students applied to these real-world challenges, and honestly, they didn't need too much help!

Devin Liang , Anacostia Riverkeeper + Many Languages One Voice, Washington, DC

As a frequent user of the rivers and parks in the D.C. area, I was happy to participate in keeping our city's parks in the state they should be. We spent a few hours gathering trash and debris along the banks of the Anacostia River and I may or may not have slipped into the river... The organization does regular cleanups and I got their social media info so hope to volunteer again with them in the future.

The second volunteer opportunity that came up, which I am very excited about, is working as a mentor for Many Languages One Voice (MLOV). I will be serving as a mentor to new immigrant youth who don't speak English as a first language. During my time serving in the Peace Corps I facilitated a few entrepreneurship and business courses to high school students so I hope that my experience there coupled with other professional experience will allow me to make an impact as a mentor.

Shayna Sims , Saint Leonard's Ministries, Chicago, IL

Saint Leonard's Ministries (SLM) is an incredible place that helps people getting back into society after incarceration. More specifically, "Inventing and innovating holistic supports to those impacted by incarceration for 70 years."?

I partnered with them to incorporate training for virtual meetings and events along with virtual interviews 1x1 or group interviews into their already existing Road to Succeed. Now, it will have more specific trainings to the virtual world, which as we all know is very relevant. From A/V to positioning the camera to body language to showing up ready for engagement. Training will now include tips for virtual interviews.?This will help set them up better for success as they move forward.?

It is exciting that this aligns with what we do here at OE.?Thank you, OE?leaders, for this awesome opportunity. I look forward to continuing this project on my own time to help elevate that community.

Laura Lee II, MAcc , Lakeview Middle School, Winter Park, FL

The school science department wanted to teach students how an entire ecosystem could be destroyed by even one piece of litter. I had the pleasure of assisting in a couple classes while we discussed how litter is harmful. On our walk outside, an amazing opportunity for one of the classes happened at the lake. A baby duckling got separated from the family because a piece of trash flew into the water. Luckily the mother duck eventually came back and found the little duckling who was is distress.

I explained to the students that this is how trash will affect an ecosystem, when people pollute their way of life. They were stunned. I appreciated the opportunity to help young minds grow.

Leila Ben-Abdallah, Ecozone Team - Prospect Park, Brooklyn, NY

I worked with the Ecozone team, which is working to restore some of the wild areas on the western border of the park. This area was totally overgrown with invasive English ivy and winter creeper and we were able to clear it out so the Ecozone team can replant it with native plants that will foster a more biodiverse ecosystem that provides food and habitat for the birds, bugs, microorganisms, and wildlife that call the park home.?

Invasive species management is a particular interest of mine. I am slowly but surely working on a degree in Ecology and Science Writing on nights and weekends, so it was particularly rewarding to get out and put some of my learning to real world use.

Thank you to all our OE volunteers! We are looking forward to hearing more.