Meeting Tomorrow’s mission statement is to build a culture of respect and affection – both inside and outside of our doors. During a time when many of us are reflecting on what we’re thankful for, I’m thankful that I work at an organization that prioritizes supporting the community through many different efforts- monetary donations, equipment donations, volunteer opportunities, community groups and more!
The spirit of giving at Meeting Tomorrow has always been led by individual employees. Since MT was founded in 2003, volunteering has been at the forefront of our culture. It became such a big part of life at MT that an internal employee-led group was formed, now called CommunMT (yup, it’s a play on words Community + Meeting Tomorrow = CommunMT)! CommunMT is the philanthropic expression of MT’s values (of commitment, kindness and humility); and provides opportunities for Meeting Tomorrow employees to come together to support and serve local charities and community projects!
In 2018, CommunMT has helped organize monthly opportunities for MTers and their friends. Many of our 2018 volunteer opportunities focused on the new neighborhood we’re moving to – Albany Park in Chicago. We taught kids how to garden at the local Albany Park Community Center, we planted trees and picked up trash for the Friends of Chicago River clean up day, we helped at the local food pantry, The Friendship Center and we volunteered with Chicago Cares to paint and beautify a local Chicago Public School. We also came together after work and made blankets for children in need through Project Linus. All volunteer projects happened because someone at Meeting Tomorrow “raised their hand” and wanted us to get involved in that organization, so we did!
At MT, we understand that time is valuable and although one person might want to dedicate their Saturday to volunteering, another person might choose to give back by providing monetary donations. We want to enable both of those options which is why CommunMT started a program that we call Dollars for Doers. This might be my most favorite benefit at MT because the company matches donation dollars up to $1000 per employee. WOW! This means that an employee’s dollar donation to the organization of their choice is doubled. We also match volunteer hours – MT will donate $15 per hour that an employee volunteers. Since the program started in 2016, MTers have donated to 96 charities including Project Fierce, Movember, and Children’s Home and Aid! Double WOW!
Our volunteering and donation giving doesn’t stop with the individual employee at Meeting Tomorrow. We recognize that since we’re in the business of providing Audio Visual and Technology for events that we’re in a unique position to support charities across the country on their most important fundraising efforts. We’re dedicated to providing technician time and free gear for our three partner organizations – Year Up, Albany Park Community Center and Jennie Goas Silverman Foundation. Outside of these organizations, we partner with charities that are connected to employees at MT. If an MTer is close to an organization and wants us to donate gear for their event, then we will whenever equipment is available. We’ve provided free equipment to over 20 organizations this year alone.
There is so much to be thankful for this year and every year. We’re thankful that there are organizations and charities that work day in and day out to make the world a better place. And we’re thankful to the employees at Meeting Tomorrow who are constantly pushing us to do more and encourage us to take our community efforts to the next level.
