This holiday season, the biggest thing we can give is our love, our time and our heart. This season is different because though we may not be able to physically join together to give back it has never been more important to find ways to help those in need and the organizations that support them.
No matter where you are or what cause you champion, this Giving Tuesday and for the remainder of the year find ways to give back. We heal through giving. We unite through giving and in this, the season of giving, I want to encourage you to find your spirit of giving.
On this Giving Tuesday, I reflect on the year we’ve had and look forward to the year ahead. There is no doubt that 2021 will bring its own unique set of challenges but I am proud of our organization for stepping to the plate in 2020 and make giving a priority during this difficult time. It brings me hope for the future; that we can come together to help those in need even when faced with our own challenges.
Giving back is engrained in who we are at TASC. Our support aligns to our communities’ needs, harnesses our employee’ passions, and supports the TASC Mission. It is our goal to lead by example and inspire others to make a difference in their own communities and the causes that are close to their hearts.
We encourage employees to give back in a variety of ways. In addition to drives held both virtually and in person, employees can request TASC support for organizations in which they are actively involved. TASC also accepts requests from nonprofits and organizations helping to better our communities.
Providing a wide variety of options for employees to take part in and ways to become involved, means that more people are likely to participate. This allows us to support diverse efforts across the country for a variety of causes that our employees are passionate about. From environmental, health, seniors, children, hunger, animals, social justice and more, TASC is broadening our horizons with giving.
Through August 2020, 269 TASC employees utilized 3,606 hours of our Paid Volunteer Time Off program. Each TASC employee receives up to 40 paid annual volunteer hours to serve their communities during business hours. We’ve seen entire TASC departments work the evening rush at a local food pantry, participation in national disaster relief efforts, and some who have even started their own charitable organizations.
This year we expanded the program to go beyond traditional 501c3 organizations to provide additional opportunities for our employees to help and want to be involved. TASC encouraged involvement in social justice causes and organizations and we also encouraged our employees to support local bipartisan election efforts including working at local polling places.
The employee participation in our Paid Volunteer Time Off programs is valued at over $115,000.
The TASC Dollars for Doers program encourages employees to volunteer during non-working hours. For every hour of volunteering outside of work hours, TASC donates money into their giving account that can then be re-gifted to a nonprofit organization of their choosing. In 2020, 1,921 hours has been attributed to Dollars for Doers as of August. 53 employees participated in the program.
From 2016 through August 2020, TASC has dedicated $2,135,444 in total giving through our giving programs. This includes Dollars for Doers, Paid Volunteer Time Off and other giving focused programs. As an organization whose employees are spread throughout the United States, that’s a lot of communities impacted by TASC employees.
We are proud to be an organization dedicated not only to our business endeavors but to investing in the communities we live, work and play. On this Giving Tuesday and for all of December, I encourage you to take the time to give back to your communities and encourage your employees to do the same. We are at our best when we give back.
TASC CEO Blog 