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Giving Tuesday was founded in 2012 as a way for people to do good. Now eight years later, it has become a global initiative in which millions of people participate. Giving back does not have to be monetary; it can be as small as showing support for an issue you care about or helping out a neighbor and as big as donating money to an organization that you believe in what they stand for. At Summer Discovery, our company and staff believe that giving back should be done year-round and not just once a year. Here are just a few of the ways that our staff give back throughout the year and, how as a company, we are giving back!
As a company…
This year as a company we have decided to participate in UNICEF’s 70th Annual Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF event. One unique thing about this fundraising opportunity for us to give back is that no donation is too small. Just $0.50 can provide 1 packed of ready-to-use therapeutic food to help save a malnourished child, $2 can provide 10 bars of soap to keep kids clean and healthy, $5 can provide 1 UNICEF backpack for a child to go to school, and $7 can provide 1 volleyball for kids to play and learn teamwork. What’s even greater is that just $185 buys school supplies for 40 children and just like our mission, will help “positively change the lives of students from around the world.” Our Summer Discovery staff has rallied together to donate money and Summer Discovery will be providing a matching donation for all the funds raised!
This Thanksgiving, we also adopted a family through Long Island Cares. The organization sends a list of items that would make up a complete Thanksgiving dinner for a family, and we collect enough to feed 2 families. One of our generous staff members, Director of Summer Staffing, Jenn, offered to organize the food drive and drop it off to Long Island Cares to then be distributed to the families. Jenn says, “It’s been a great way for us to give back to the community.” This year, in light of social distancing and work from home orders, she took up a donation and purchased the items on behalf of the Summer Discovery staff.
Ways our staff is giving back…
Victoria, our University of Michigan Campus Specialist, is doing a fundraiser through her craft business, @CraftsByVAS. With all of her winter crafts she sells, she will be donating 40% of the proceeds to purchase toys for Toys for Tots.
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Each year, our Director of Educational Development & University Partnerships, Esteban and his sons, who are part of the Boy Scouts of America, Troop 52, collect several tons of food for Scouting for Food.
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Our Office Manager, Stacey and her family recently made a donation to the Rudman Family Food Pantry. Stacey says that “it was an eye-opening experience for my son to see how many people locally are in need of everyday items, we sometimes take for granted.”
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Earlier this year, Daniela, our University of Pennsylvania Campus Specialist, started sponsoring a dog named Huckleberry that she met at an adoption drive through the New York City-based organization, Mighty Mutts.
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Riley, our Georgetown University Campus Specialist, is unable to do a lot of volunteer work due to his busy schedule, but does chose to donate to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital monthly, which is located in his home town of Memphis, TN!
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And, our Director of People and Training, Miranda is training to be a crisis counselor for The Trevor Project, which works to end suicide for LGBT+ youth and will be volunteering weekly after her 12-week training process ends.
Are you looking for a way to give back?
If you apply to a Summer Discovery Program today, Giving Tuesday, and 50% of your application fee will go towards helping a student from a low-income family find their pathway to college. That's right – you can gain a once in a lifetime experience and give back all at once! Summer Discovery is giving 50% of our application fees today to Minds Matter. This organization connects driven and determined students from low-income families with the people, preparation and possibilities to succeed in college, create their future and change the world. What are you waiting for? Join us and be a part of something bigger than yourself and help us change lives today! To apply, click here.