An easy way for you to give back and make a difference in ways you’ll never know.

wood model of people connected in a circle

I often get emails or questions from people wanting to give back at their place of work, and not knowing where to start.

During @ideba’s Annual Business Review last year, we sent $75 VISA gift cards to 75 clients, for them to hand out to someone in need.

Little did we know the impact the effort would make and the lives our clients would touch. In addition to many donating to local food banks or places of worship, here are some of my personal favorite acts of kindness:

  1. Stimulating a conversation over a family dinner as to where to donate – where two young children asked their parents why they weren’t giving themselves and why they had to just donate a gift card to one beneficiary.
  2. Seeing a lady sitting by the side of the road with six suitcases and stopping to offer the gift card – no questions asked.
  3. Paying a Greyhound bus fare, so an employee at a local store could attend her grand-mothers funeral.
  4. Buying groceries for a single mom and her kids, living in their car.

There are, of course, many other unspoken stories and lives touched.

One of the most fulfilling by-products of this effort was one of our clients initiating a similar program with 75 of their client contacts.

So, at a time when many corporations are cutting back or freezing spending – how about going the opposite direction and giving back to those most in need? For ~$5k, your company can execute a similar program and make a massive difference in so many ways.

If you’re inspired, talk to your manager or HR lead, and see if you can make it happen! And please drop me a line if you do at davids@idebamarketing.com. I’d love to hear from you. Thanks!

David Sly – President