By Ian Spector, 2018 Loaned Executive & Senior Account Executive with Slate Group
Let’s be honest. Introducing change to an environment will always start off gradual. When people are comfortable, it can take a lot to motivate them to modify their behavior. Introducing the United Way Campaign to Slate Group was no different. Slate Group holds community give back events several times a year, which was one of the reasons I was inspired to become a Campaign Coordinator & Loaned Executive. Long story short: we are no strangers to community involvement, but we were strangers to the United Way Campaign.
At our Kick-Off Meeting, there was an immediate connection to our speaker, Paris Wright, who told about how United Way helped her get back on her feet. Not only giving her a safe place to live but also helping her start a career… stories that were humbling, yet encouraging. As we started to receive forms back, I began to hear things like, “I’m so glad we get to team up and be a part of this!” and “ We’ve been blessed with the means to have this opportunity, why shouldn’t we extend a hand however we can?” Having the opportunity to positively impact our community, and our friends, was one that our work-family definitely appreciated.
Being our inaugural campaign, I know we have nowhere to go but up! As a company, we are so thankful for the awareness and opportunity the United Way Campaign brought to us. With the busyness of life, the campaign allowed us to support our community in a way that did not feel like a financial burden while having the peace of mind that all funds are used to the best of their ability. We are looking forward to opportunities to team up with some of the partner agencies in 2019 and continue helping however we can!