Every year as the holidays draw near, people tend to seek out opportunities to give back. Whether through volunteering or donating, the holiday spirit inspires us to do something good.
At Proformex, we are very lucky to have people on our team who focus on that giving all throughout the year. We'd like to highlight some of the awesome things our team members do to better their communities and perhaps even encourage others to join in some of the activities they support!
Bill Leonard, CFO
Pictured: David Morris, CMO and Bill Leonard, CFO
Bill is an active member of the Cleveland community. Not only does he serve on the board of trustees as chairman of the finance committee for TWO local organizations (St. Edward High School and the Cuyahoga County Library), but he is also on the Steering Committee for Velosano - a cancer research fund - and the team captain of Velosano for Oswald Companies. On top of that, he also serves as the volunteer CFO for Blockland Cleveland, an initiative to educate and promote the use of real-world blockchain applications. Thanks for caring about the Cleveland community, Bill!
David Morris, CMO
Our Chief Marketing Officer David Morris dedicates his free time to being a mentor for the VFA Accelerator program. VFA is a two-year fellowship program for recent college grads who want to work at a startup and create jobs in American cities. David attends meetings to give presentations, perspective and advice to these young professionals to help set them on the path to success. Thanks for helping other local startups, David!
Image pulled from a VFA Accelerator email to mentors.
Alexander Thornton, Software Engineer
Alex is one of our team's Software Engineers, and he volunteers with Tech Corps and their annual hackathon event. He travels to different cities throughout the state of Ohio to teach local high school students about coding and programming. This event provides teens with the opportunity to learn about computer science in a fun, engaging and inclusive environment. Thanks for helping foster growth and knowledge in the next generation of tech pros, Alex!
Group photo of the TECH CORPS students and volunteers at their event in Columbus, Ohio.
Karoline Porter, Associate Product Manager
Karoline Porter, our Associate Product Manager, volunteers her time with John Carroll University's annual Dare to Dream event. This retreat brings together 1,000 local high school girls for a day of exploration around entrepreneurship and goal-setting. We couldn't think of a better mentor for young girls than Karoline. Thanks for giving back to our community, Karoline!
Karoline poses for a quick photo with one group of girls she worked with and mentored during the Dare to Dream retreat.
Jordan Tate, Customer Success Manager
Our Customer Success Manager Jordan Tate spends a lot of her time volunteering and donating throughout the year. She is actively involved with horse rescues, where she regularly donates feed that she creates as well as small tack items like halters, lead ropes and blankets. Jordan and her husband are also heavily involved in youth athletic programs. Her husband is a volunteer wrestling coach and together they set up a spare building for the high school wrestling team to use year-round for practice. It's complete with wrestling mats and a refrigerator they stock with water. They also started an athletic scholarship fund program in football to help keep the kids in the program throughout high school and earn a scholarship towards their college education. You truly have a heart of gold, Jordan! Thank you for everything you do for kids and animals in your community.
Presentation of the first official scholarship through Jordan and her husband's scholarship fund.
Jordan and her husband sponsored Ella and her horse at the Stark County Junior Fair.
Claudia Lab, Content Marketing Manager
Claudia volunteers at an annual day of service event in the Greater Akron area called First Serve. More than 100 service projects are completed throughout the Akron community, from light house repairs to building playground equipment and painting murals. This fall, she and a team of volunteers built a Gaga ball pit in an Akron park. As a follow up project, she baked seven dozen cookies for a cookie exchange so that the event organizers of First Serve could package and deliver an assortment of holiday cookies to families whose homes were worked on during the day of service. Claudia also serves as a volunteer mentor for CollegeNow Greater Cleveland, a Northeastern Ohio initiative that connects college students with local mentors for the duration of their undergraduate degree. Volunteers help guide these first-generation students - who also receive a scholarship through CollegeNow - as they navigate the challenges associated with pursuing a 4-year degree. Thanks for showing you care, Claudia!
Some of the middle school aged First Serve volunteers test out the newly built Gaga ball pit with local Akron children at Elizabeth Park.
Progress photo of the first 6 out of 84 holiday cookies baked and decorated by Claudia for the First Serve families.
Alexa VanMaaren, Customer Success Manager
Our Customer Success Manager Alexa joined the Lakewood Charitable Assistance Corp. to sort, package and deliver perishable and non-perishable food to needy Lakewood-area families and senior citizens. She worked alongside the St. Edward High School students she coaches in rowing to help with the project, which served approximately 300 families this year. Way to go, Coach Alexa!
Alexa poses for a picture before delivering the baskets with a few members of the St. Ed's rowing team.
This is just one small sample of the cool things the People of Proformex are up to throughout the year. To stay up-to-date with everything we're doing, follow the #PeopleOfProformex hashtag on our social media channels! Happy holidays!
