This story was submitted as part of the #Pledge1Gives GivingTuesday campaign, which celebrates the many ways our member companies are having an impact around the world.
At Nextep, we want to empower our employees to give back to the community through the Nextep Charitable Foundation. This is why we joined the Pledge 1% movement and are committed to giving our time, dollars, and expertise to organizations in need.
This year, we got even more serious about our volunteer efforts. In addition to giving employees eight hours of paid volunteer time each year, we created Nextep Gives Back Days. Twice a year, all ten of our offices set aside their to-do lists and volunteer with the rest of their team. It’s a great way to rally our people behind Nextep’s culture of giving, while also sending out hundreds of volunteers to lend a hand to organizations in our communities.
“We created the Nextep Charitable Foundation to encourage our employees to give back to the community,” said Brian Fayak, Nextep’s founder and CEO. “The addition of Nextep Gives Back Days is our opportunity to bring together the entire organization for one day to serve our neighbors and make a big impact on a handful of deserving organizations.”
From local food banks to community shelters, we’ve packaged meals, built furniture, and organized homes. Our main focus for Nextep Gives Back is to serve children and families and to break down the barriers holding them back. We’ve found incredible partners to serve who share the same mission.
However, Nextep Gives Back Days are not solely focused on our volunteer time. We also make a monetary donation to each organization we serve. In 2019, we donated $17,000, served 873 volunteer hours, and impacted 15 organizations. But those are only the donations from our two Nextep Gives Back Days. Giving back is a year-round initiative for Nextep. Since joining Pledge 1%, we’ve donated $200,000 to organizations in need, served 2,800 volunteer hours, and serviced 10 nonprofits with free services.
Our employees have had an overwhelmingly positive response to Nextep Gives Back Days. Not only do we have nearly 100% employee participation, but our people also talk about their experiences giving back throughout the year.
“Nextep has allowed me the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than just collecting a paycheck,” said Carrie Henry, benefits account manager. “Giving back to the community is a rewarding feeling and something I have always felt I was missing out on due to time constraints.”
Our partnership with Pledge 1% and the addition of Nextep Gives Back Days have made a difference in our culture and in the lives of our people, which is why we are ramping up our efforts in 2020. We have big volunteer goals to meet, days of giving to plan, and many more organizations to help. To learn more about our philanthropic efforts, visit nextep.com/foundation.
