2018 has been quite a year for TPG! From a significant amount of internal growth, to attending and speaking at conferences, developing new corporate partnerships, and staying busy with client projects, it is easy to lose sight of how truly fortunate we are in many ways.
We are so lucky to have successful careers that challenge us and force us to grow. We are also blessed to have strong friendships both inside and outside of the company, family and personal security and safety.
However, we also realize that there are many others who are not as lucky as a lot of us, and we must not forget that tragedies, poverty and sicknesses do not take time off for the holidays.
This year during the Holiday season, TPG Leadership decided to forego Christmas gifts and instead initiate a Holiday Goodwill campaign to give each employee an opportunity to give back to their community or a cause of their choice to practice “Purpose Beyond Profit”. Together, we worked to make some people’s Christmas and holidays a little bit brighter.
Everyone deserves to feel the holiday joy.
United with the goal of supporting our community and organizations that are close to our hearts, each employee chose unique organizations that supported various causes spanning illnesses & healthcare, natural disasters, homelessness and other vulnerable populations on both a local and national level.
I feel that being in a more fortunate position, it’s important to share with those in need, whether it’s sharing our knowledge in our Purpose Beyond Profit initiative or through resources we have in abundance.
The introduction of this idea was met with a positive and enthusiastic reaction from the team, and I wouldn’t have expected anything less! Whether it allowed someone to contribute a little bit more to an cause they already support, or made them think about a group of people that would benefit from the support, everyone was excited to get started!
It was inspiring to come into the office and hear why everyone chose to support the various organizations they did, whether it was an organization that affected them personally, a group in their community, or a cause that hits close to home. What was more, was to learn that some employees went a step further by participating in food sorting, and food serving, or matching the donation to have twice as much of an impact.
The attitude toward this initiative made me proud to work with this team because everyone was so committed to honouring the purpose of the donation, and so many people went above and beyond what was expected, despite the holidays being an extremely busy time in everyone’s personal and professional lives. It truly proves that the TPG team is more than just a collection of co-workers. We are a family who shares the same fundamental values and we are committed to working together toward a shared goal.
With the excitement of the holidays, it can be easy to ignore individuals, families and communities who may not experience the “joy of the holidays” in the same way we do.
This initiative proves that one small kind deed can have a ripple effect to positively impact many people around the world, and for many of these organizations, a little bit of extra help can go a long way, far beyond the holiday season.
I wanted to bring a smile to children’s faces on Christmas by doing my part, no matter how small, in having a positive effect on them. This [money] will help in adding more funds to the [Sick Kids] foundation and go towards helping kids who have illnesses with their surgery.
Kathy Calvin, CEO of the United Nations Foundation sums up the essence of this initiative with the quote: “Giving is not just making a donation. It is about making a difference.” Whether it is service or money, this Purpose Beyond Profit initiative continues to spread across boarders, and beyond the limits we ever thought!
These organizations embody The Poirier Group values of Service to Others, Empowerment, and a Focus on Results. I’m grateful for The Poirier Group for enabling me to pay it forward and am proud to be part of an organization that values the community of which it’s a part.
Some of the causes that were supported by this initiative include:
For 30 years, Amethyst has had a life-changing impact on one of central Ohio’s most under-served populations. They work with women and their children who have been abused, are on drugs, are single parents. They utilized state of the art and science methods for recovery, rehabilitation and re-entry and sustainability post the interventions.
Toronto “Out of the Cold”
For eight Wednesdays each year from November to January, an army of volunteers from the temple warmly welcome homeless and socially-isolated people as guests to the synagogue for a hot meal and a safe place to spend the night. The volunteers show love, care and respect to each and every guest and the program provides our guests with a much-needed mental and physical break from the difficult realities of life that they face.
For The Love of Mateo
For the Love of Mateo is a 5013C Nonprofit organization that Valerie Edwards, FTLOM’s founder likes to call, a Mission of Love. Since the beginning, For the Love of Mateo’s mission was to serve children in Guatemala, and that has now grown to be able to serve over 13 outreach projects throughout Guatemala.
Ride for Heart
The Ride for Heart is a charity bicycle ride organized by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario.
It something I personally participate in every year as this is a disease that hits close to home and besides it’s the only time I get to be on the QEW and DVP and enjoy the traffic.
Halton Food4Kids
Food4Kids works to provide healthy food to elementary school students from at-risk, low-income or disadvantaged homes with limited or no food during weekend periods. They provide a solution-based program that addresses, responds to and diminishes child weekend hunger within Halton. They do so in a discretionary and non-stigmatizing way by placing food package in the students’ backpacks at the end of the school week, for the student to take home to their family for the weekend.
California Community Foundation’s Wildfire Relief Fund
The CCF Wildfire Relief Fund supports intermediate and long-term recovery efforts for major California wildfires, as well as preparedness efforts. The Wildfire Relief Fund (WRF) provides grants to key organizations working to aid communities affected by the fire, such as Malibu Fire Relief Fund, Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, and Ventura County Animal Services.
St. Paul’s On-the-Hill Community Food Bank
The food bank is staffed entirely by volunteers. 100% of funds raised are used to operate the food bank and buy food.
Ronald McDonald House, Columbus
The mission of RMHC of Central Ohio is to create, find, and support programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children and their families. This cause is very near and dear to our hearts.
Sick Kids Hospital
This organization is tackling the challenge to extend standards of care to children all around the world, and improve research efforts and resources to improve the health and wellbeing of children.
Thanks to our donors, in the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2018, SickKids Foundation invested over $140 million in child health research, learning and care. We’re winning. Because every day we continue to fight.
Mary Adelaide Leprosy Centre
Dr. Ruth Pfau, a German-Catholic nun and doctor established the Mary Adelaide Leprosy Centre there. The clinic is based in Karachi, Pakistan and offered both medical and social services. Without her intervention, these people would be confined to their slums and left to die without support, medication, or any hope of living happily
Access Alliance
A United Way member agency that provides primary healthcare to vulnerable populations
Parkdale Legal
Provides legal representation, advice, and education to individuals who cannot access prohibitively expensive legal services.
Through these organizations’ valuable work, local vulnerable populations are able to safely access basic services which would otherwise be unavailable or difficult to obtain. They help individuals who are facing systemic pressures secure and maintain basic needs that ease some of the challenges they face.
Family sponsorship program for Riverdale Housing
The organization creates great support programs like the Holiday Family Sponsorship to help local community members who live below the poverty line in community housing.
St Andrew Presbyterian Church Food Bank
The Food Bank is an outreach Ministry of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church. The Food Bank is open every Wednesday from 12:30PM to 2PM, a light lunch is served for every Brampton resident in need. The Food bank is run by volunteers who generously donate their time.
CharityWater
CharityWater invests the money they raise into organizations with years of experience to build sustainable, community-owned water projects around the world. Their team works closely to ensure that every dollar is accounted for and then provides reports back to our donors.
Sleeping Children Around the World
Sleeping Children Around the World distributes bedkits to children in a ratio of 50% girls and 50% boys, who are aged 6 to 12, and are from any culture and any religion. Every child should be able to get a good night’s sleep. The contents of a bedkit vary from country to country, but always contain bedding and a mosquito net, clothing and school supplies.
Bedkits are manufactured or purchased overseas by trustworthy organizations and individuals who use their local knowledge and expertise to pick the best bedkit items for the children living in that area. All bedkits are assembled in the country of distribution to eliminate shipping costs and to stimulate the economy.
I am grateful to The Poirier Group for enabling me to give back to a community that I care about deeply. Our company’s Holiday Goodwill initiative is exemplary of how The Poirier Group strives to contribute in meaningful ways beyond day-to-day servicing of clients.
