SPAN Staff Rally to Support Charities

Robyn Thomas and Tayla Geben have a lot in common: They are both senior engineers at SPAN Digital who share a strong desire to make a difference through active support of, and engagement with, local charitable organizations.??

It all started August 17—during Women's month—when the two women started talking about how to support those most in need in their local communities. SPAN encourages its people to propose and drive cultural initiatives, so when Robyn and Tayla presented a community support initiative, it was fully embraced and supported.?

They rallied employees in both SPAN Digital’s Cape Town and San Francisco offices in support of Mama Flo, a charity committed to finding short- and long-term sustainable solutions to end "period poverty" in Site B, Khayelitsha, Cape Town. The campaign launched in the third quarter of this year with a goal of 2,000 rand. A charity squad was formed with various employees from SPAN who also wanted to be involved. The result? Eleven thousand rand was donated by SPAN Digital employees family and friends and another 10,000 rand was matched by the company.

Robyn?also reached out to her boot camp fitness group to help collect sanitary packs with a burpees challenge that collected over 100 packs.?

Employees Rally with Support, Donations, and Action! Even though the charitable effort started late in August, Tayla and Robyn said they were surprised by the quick employee response. “The support has been awesome. The final amount of monetary donations was beyond our expectations,” Tayla said.

Tayla and Robyn said giving back was approached strategically. They agreed on several goals including: Help local communities during the pandemic, encourage connectedness throughout SPAN through giving back, raise awareness of community needs and issues, and “provide a?platform for those who want to make a difference but aren’t sure how.” All lofty goals achieved!?

In addition to financially supporting Mama Flo, SPAN employees also provided 114 packs of sanitary items, presented to the organization on October, 1 at the Cape Town office. Several SPAN Digital employees attended the handover.?

What’s Ahead? This is just the beginning; Tayla and Robyn are planning to aid a variety of local charities and causes on a quarterly basis. Among them: Breast cancer awareness; participation in Movember, a global movement focused on men’s health and held in November, and the Masi Creative Hub, a South African nonprofit organization that provides meals to school children during the pandemic. Employees are also?filling shoe boxes with items and sweets for the children helped by Masi.?

Robyn noted that the charitable accomplishments would not have happened without the support?of SPAN Digital’s leadership. “We are grateful for the opportunities we have had at SPAN,” Robyn stated. “Working here has motivated and inspired us to achieve higher. We have enough freedom to do what we want and need to do, if it is done respectfully. We continue to look for ways to give to SPAN because the company gives back to us.”

Tayla who joined SPAN Digital in 2017, and Robyn who came on board two years later, have something else in common as well. Both were promoted to senior engineers on the same day and agree that their success with community drives and campaigns has benefitted them professionally.?

“I would not have been able to manage the company’s charity efforts without Robyn,” Tayla said–and Robyn agrees wholeheartedly. “We’re best friends. We have really good strengths, and we work well together. That has led to the overall success we’ve experienced at SPAN.”