Knock Back a Cold Can of Altruism

Emma’s always been concerned about giving back to the community in which we live and work. We’ve been lucky enough to stumble into some success and as my grandmother always says, “A rising tide floats all boats.” Picture Emma as that tide, minus any sort of weird flood phobias you might have.

We have a good relationship with many of the non-profits who use our service. Email communication is cost-effective and timely for these non-profits who typically have little of either money or time. We know that they are constantly under the burden of tightening budgets and we’re always looking for some way to help out.

That’s where our Office Coordinator, Anne Rochford, comes in. She’s always listening patiently to our gripes about the kitchen being out of Cokes (or sodas for the Ohioans that work here). She had the great idea that we could slake our thirst and at the same time raise a little money to help out our community.

For the last several months, we’ve all been dutifully paying 25 cents for each Coke we drink. (Well, between you and me, Matt seems to think that Mondays are 2 for 1.) All of the money raised each month is given to charity. To add a little more spiciness, the charities are chosen by an Emma staffer each month. Money that would otherwise end up in a jar somewhere is given to those who need it and Emma staffers get a chance to help out their favorite charities. Picture that tide again and some beautiful sailboats, maybe just off the cost of some Mediterranean island. Now, wake up.

We’re in our fourth month of what I’m calling (without consultation) the Drink Back Campaign. These are the charities we’ve donated to so far:
1st month – Magdalene House
2nd month – Book ‘Em
3rd month – Sexual Assault Center
Current month – Nashville Humane Association

A little trivia about our efforts:
Emma staffers’ favorite drink: Diet Dr. Pepper
Emma staffers’ least favorite drink: Sprite (lack of caffeine?)
Average # cases consumed in a month: 10
Average # hours Emma intern “Lojack” spends rolling the change: 3
Total amount of money donated: almost $400

Does your company have an interesting way of giving back to the community?