DCI Gives Back to Local Communities Through DCI Cares Initiative
September 13, 2018 | By: daniel and DCI
This summer, our DCI team unplugged all devices, stepped away from our desks and spent an afternoon giving back to our communities through our volunteer initiative, DCI Cares.
The DCI Cares initiative encourages staff to identify opportunities to volunteer in their communities, and if at least five staff members opt to participate, DCI provides a paid day-off.
“One of the core values of DCI is to ‘pursue happiness while doing good,’ so six years ago we launched DCI Cares as a way for our staff to give back to the communities in which we live. We want to encourage our teams to step away from work for a day and join their colleagues in building stronger communities,” said Julie Curtin, President of DCI’s Economic Development practice.
The New York, Toronto and Los Angeles offices partnered with New York City-based Materials for the Arts (MFTA), a creative reuse program that collects reusable materials and donates them to nonprofits, organizations and public schools.
MFTA’s volunteer program involves preparing the warehouse for “shopping days,” creating teacher kits for local public schools, and organizing a variety of donated materials that the program receives from businesses and individuals throughout NYC, including arts and crafts supplies, beads, office supplies, household items and paint.
“Taking part in DCI Cares was such a fun way for us to spend time together while also giving back to the community,” remarked Ally Carlson, DCI Account Manager. “It felt amazing to give back to an organization that supports the arts and inspires kids and adults alike to be creative – MFTA and its volunteers helped keep 1.6 million pounds of materials out of the land fill last year alone.”
While the combined NYC-Toronto-Los Angeles team was busy learning about creative reuse at MFTA, DCI Denver enjoyed an afternoon at Project C.U.R.E., the largest provider of donated medical supplies and equipment to developing countries in the world. Headquartered just 20 minutes south of the DCI Denver office, Project C.U.R.E. delivers medical supplies to hospitals, rural clinics and community health centers in more than 130 countries.
Project C.U.R.E. depends on thousands of volunteers worldwide to ship two to three cargo containers of aid from its warehouses every week, and that’s where our small (but mighty) DCI West team stepped in to help.
“We had a great day volunteering at Project C.U.R.E.’s warehouse – not only did we give back to a local organization, but also made a global impact by helping people around the world,” noted Georgia Jablon, DCI Account Executive.