Martin Luther King Day & Earth Day Provide Opportunities to Give Back

Each January, Give To Get designs, develops, and delivers employee volunteer events for organizations across the country in honor of Martin Luther King Day, the only federal holiday designated as a national day of service. We’ve also helped global corporations kick off their annual service campaigns on this day. 

Although we have always enjoyed getting our hands dirty painting murals at school refurbishments, building picnic tables at parks, and completing other hands-on projects, this year’s events are focused on assisting as many organizations as possible — including many in the same cause area — from the safety of volunteers’ homes.

Our At-Home Experiences allow volunteers to support a wide range of programs, including those with social justice ties. 

• STEM Kits
  Clients have had their employee volunteers assemble STEM kits for Black Girls Code, which launched in April 2011 and teaches girls computer programming and game design. It not only hopes to pave the way for lifelong learning to underprivileged girls of color, but also prepare them for the millions of technology jobs available today. These kits have also been distributed to Boys & Girls Club around the country, with each kit being tailored to educators’ needs including environmental kits, circuitry kits, and other projects.
  

• Career Re-Entry Kits
  Other employee volunteers chose to assemble career re-entry kits for the Urban League of Greater Atlanta, which focuses on preparing individuals for careers in the 21st century; raising the graduation rate among metro Atlanta students; preparing youth for college and careers; growing small businesses and sustainable communities; and serving as an advocate for education, civic engagement, and economic development. These kits can be helpful for those who have been out of the workforce for any reason, including incarceration, which disproportionately impacts Black and Hispanic individuals. These kits include interview flashcards, binders, backpacks, and personalized job search and interview advice.
  

• COVID Comfort Kits
  Provided to organizations in communities that have been hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic, these kits provide essential items like tissues, masks, hand sanitizer, and other items that nonprofits and their clients need now more than ever.

Did your team miss out on Martin Luther King Day events?

There’s still time to plan an event for spring! Earth Day, held on April 22, may be the first opportunity for some organizations to gather together safely outdoors by cleaning beaches, refurbishing parks, and assisting wildlife habitats, if COVID-19 transmission is low and PPE is worn properly.

If you're working with a large group in various locations around the country — like a meeting of team members — or would prefer to have your employees volunteer from the safety of their homes, we also offer an At-Home Experience that supports environmental nonprofits. 

Working closely with our friends at the Planet Bee Foundation, we created an environmental experience that gives volunteers the opportunity to make bee hotels, which replace the insect's natural habitat, and seed balls, which can be used to help plant wildflowers that are native to your employees' region. In addition to supporting the environment, these kits are great for kids who are itching to get back outdoors or may need a hands-on complement to their Zoom science classes that they can complete with their guardians.

Afterall, as Martin Luther King, Jr., said, “Everybody can be great… because anybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.”