By Sally Lu, Business Analyst, Prophix Software Inc.
The author of this post participated on a SOS Outreach Trip to Pueblo Viejo, in Nicaragua, in April 2017 with fellow Prophix employees. This post is the last installment of a three part series on how your professional career does not signal the end of your volunteer career.
As a recent university graduate, I often hear my friends struggling with work-life balance, particularly how to find ways to be involved with their communities and give back once they start a full-time job. One of the best ways to give back to the community is to get involved with your corporate social responsibility program at your workplace. If your organization doesn’t have one yet, start one!
At my company, Prophix, our CSR programming is multi-faceted. We have a corporate sponsorship program (which matches any employee donation to a charitable organization for up to $1,000!), social responsibility rewards (which rewards employees with a half day vacation for being environmentally conscious by carpooling, busing or walking to work, eating litter-free lunches, and tons of other ways), and our charitable project funding.
For our charitable project funding program, we donate $25,000 for each quarter that we reach our sales goal! This program has been very successful in raising awareness among our employees of all the causes needing support. It has also positively affected our employee engagement since we know that when the company thrives, that our communities benefit as well! For our previous charitable projects, we have worked with Me to We to build a well in the rural community of Kipsongol, Kenya, and Child Haven to build a new roof for an orphanage in Kaliyampoondi, India.
Of course, we always love to give back to our local community of Mississauga as well! Previously, we have partnered with Canadian Blood Services to run Donor Drives, participated in awareness events with 5 Days for the Homeless, and donated toys, clothing, and gift cards to families in need for Peel Children’s Aid Angel Tree Program. We also seek to educate our employees on various initiatives in the community by hosting Lunch & Learn sessions with charitable organizations.
We are planning lots of exciting events for Prophix’s CSR programming over the next few months. During the summer, we plan a day for employees to volunteer at Riverwood Conservancy to plant trees and clear invasive species. Prophix is also organizing a corporate team to participate in the 2017 OneWalk on September 9th, which directly benefits Princess Margaret Cancer Centre. Additionally, we are always looking to partner with new Canadian charities for our charitable project funding program.