At InfoTrust, giving back to the community is built into our core values of impact and respect. We’re doers by nature—and believe that our success is someone else’s miracle. Our global team believes it is the responsibility of a business to leverage growth as an opportunity to make a difference in our communities. With this in mind, our efforts are focused first and foremost on what we get to contribute as we grow as a company. Our largest effort to date is our annual Basket Brigade initiative.
How It Began
Inspired by Tony Robbins’ Basket Brigade, InfoTrust launched its first Basket Brigade in 2013. In its inaugural year, we provided 33 baskets filled with all the trimmings for a Thanksgiving meal to local families in Cincinnati, Ohio. Fast forward six years, Basket Brigade is now global with employees working with local communities from India to Dubai to Seattle to provide everything from Thanksgiving dinners to blankets, cleaning supplies, and personal care necessities. In 2018, we delivered supplies to more than 2,000 individuals and families.
How We Helped in 2020
In 2020, amidst the global pandemic, we knew the needs were great—if not greater. Thanks to separating into teams in different geographic locations, we were able to assist various organizations across the globe through monetary donations.
2021 Basket Brigade and Day of Service
This year, with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to impact not only our daily lives, but also our outreach opportunities, we introduced a four-element Basket Brigade plan:
- Basket Brigade traditional donations to families in the Cincinnati and Chicago areas in need (in the form of Kroger gift cards this year due to COVID-19)
- A larger foundation donation around agreed-upon theme
- Continued efforts in international outreach projects (Philippines, India, Uganda, and Kenya)
- Our first-ever “InfoTrust Day of Service”
Our First-Ever “InfoTrust Day of Service”
On December 2, we were thrilled to give back to our communities with our time, skills, and energy. Our offices closed to allow our employees to go out and serve their communities—and serve we did!
The Cincinnati team spent an afternoon at Matthew 25 Ministries sorting paint (to be used in countries like Haiti and Honduras) and household items to be distributed to those in need. The work of Matthew 25: Ministries helps the poorest of the poor and disaster victims throughout the United States and around the world.
“I have always valued InfoTrust as an organization that practices what we preach,” says Senior Client Success Manager Stephanie Robb. “With impact being one of our core values, it is put into action by allowing employees dedicated time to give back. Being able to spend time with my teammates volunteering for such a great cause was so fun! We made an impact in a small way by performing tasks in their donations warehouse, but in a bigger way by showing service before self.”
“For me, it’s important for us to see there is work to be done beyond what we do day to day as a company—to step out from behind our laptops and help meet needs besides our own,” Senior Analytics Consultant Jake Allspaw says. “It felt great to do work that seems so ordinary—stirring and sorting paint—and know that it can be extraordinary because Matthew 25 sends this paint to hospitals and schools in need of it.”
The Columbus team spent the day helping bag groceries and load into cars for 35-45 individuals at the Mid-Ohio Food Collective.
“I was in charge of giving out food to individuals who drove through the drive-thru. Each individual got one box of meat, a gallon of milk, a box of fresh fruit, and a box of an assortment of different food,” says Associate Digital Analytics Consultant Jared Fisher. “It was a really great experience to be able to help out the community that we live in and make even just the slightest positive impact on those that drove through. Ultimately, it helped me appreciate where I work more—and was really awesome that InfoTrust granted and encouraged all of their employees to take time to give back to their community.”
Our Chicago and Dubai offices participated in their Day of Service in December as well.
The Chicago team spent the day at the Illinois Medical Guest House, an organization that offers low cost or free housing and services to families that are caring for their loved ones with cancer at one of the large Chicago hospitals.
Team Lead, Data Visualization, Dan Vivaldelli says that what he loves about InfoTrust’s culture is that collectively everyone chooses to prioritize helping those in need in our communities—this year, through the Day of Service.
“We were fortunate to prepare care packages for individuals receiving cancer treatment who oftentimes are struggling with poverty and homelessness,” he says. “This small token of kindness could mean the world to someone and I appreciate that InfoTrust allows us to prioritize helping others in a direct way.”
Members of the Dubai team also worked on care packages—but for the Dubai Foundation for Women & Children that will be donated this month. The first licensed nonprofit shelter in the UAE offers immediate protection and support services for women and children against domestic violence, child abuse, and human trafficking.
Technical Project Manager & Analytics Consultant Kim Mascarenhas shared that it was a privilege to be together with her teammates to pack necessities for the Dubai Foundation for Women & Children, as well as to see the result of contributions potentially having a long-term impact on the lives of their inmates.
“I’m sure I speak for the rest of the Dubai team when I say that we’re indeed so blessed to be employed with an organization that lives by its values of giving back,” she said.
Additionally, our remote employees took part in the Day of Service in their own communities.
Director of Partnerships Pete Crofut volunteered at a food bank in Oregon, packing meals for families in need.
“Even though I was far away from everyone on InfoTrust’s Day of Service, being of service in my own community and knowing everyone was doing the same at InfoTrust’s headquarters made me feel incredibly proud to work for a company that treats giving as a core pillar of the company’s culture,” he says.
Strategist and Team Lead Courtney Fenstermaker helped set up for her community Christmas tree lighting in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania. On average, approximately 2,000 people attend the free event and more than 10,000 cookies are baked—some of which Fenstermaker made herself.
But our service wasn’t limited to in-person activities. Strategist and Team Lead Kristi Morin used her analytics expertise to help a local motherhood nonprofit organization with its marketing analysis and strategy. Morin created a presentation reviewing 2021 accomplishments and outlining 2022 goals.
No matter the activity, InfoTrusters united across the miles to give back this holiday season.
“It is the role of companies to help their communities thrive,” CEO Alex Yastrebenetsky says. “InfoTrust has always placed an emphasis on this because we know that in order to grow, we’ve got to give. We want to be someone’s miracle, helping them when they need it—not for our own gain, but rather for theirs. The holiday season is the perfect time to exhibit this care and concern for others, and I’m proud that we, as an organization, put this at the top of our list and embed it in our hearts. That’s what InfoTrust is all about.”
