Solstice Pay it FWD 2017

"Make a difference" is one of Solstice’s core principles, and this fall our team set out to do just that. The first edition of Solstice Pay it FWD took place in Chicago and our Solsties spent the day volunteering at various organizations across the city.

From crafting with patients at Lurie Children's Hospital, to helping the Internet of Elephants preserve wildlife in Africa, we had the opportunity to contribute to a wide array of organizations. We'd like to send a huge thank you to each and every one of these organizations for welcoming our team with open arms and introducing us to their cause.

To learn more about what we did during Pay it FWD, hear from a few Solsties below that volunteered at each organization:

Lurie Children’s Hospital

Ann & Robert Lurie Children's Hospital has always been close to our hearts. For the last six years, Solstice has been the presenting sponsor of Chicago Dance Marathon so it was a no-brainer to continue our involvement and support for Lurie's during Solstice Pay it FWD. And because there are endless opportunities to support Lurie Children's, we decided to divide our volunteers into three teams. Amongst the three groups we made crafts with the patients at their bedside, distributed toys to kids in the cafe, and made no-sew fleece blankets for both the patients and their families.

- Sach Modak, Product Analyst, Dani Brei, Product Consultant and Jackie Makar, Product Director

St. Catherine-St. Lucy’s

When we arrived at St. Catherine-St. Lucy’s, our group of 14 Solsties was enthusiastically greeted by the kids on the playground who were very excited we were there. Our afternoon was split into two parts; the first half of the afternoon was spent playing games, reading books, and making paper puppets with the students. Once they departed for the day, we spent the second half of the day helping the school staff by organizing and categorizing the many books and supplies they receive so that they can have a more organized library, a designated area to do arts and crafts, and access to basic school supplies. The afternoon was a huge success and a great reminder that seemingly small acts of kindness can have a big impact.

- Francesca Silva, Product Consultant

Horizons for Youth

Our team for Horizons for Youth consisted of 21 Solsties. We were put to work on a number of things to help spruce up their tutoring center. One group painted doors and their frames, another group worked on building four new bookshelves and disposing of the old broken ones, and the final group, that everyone eventually helped out with, wrote heartfelt cards to all the kids in Horizons For Youth, wishing them good luck for this years school year! 

- DJ Ley, Technical Analyst

Anti-Cruelty Society

We had over 30 Solsties volunteer at Chicago's Anti-Cruelty Society, which is committed to building a community of caring by helping pets and educating people. The team worked with animals at the organization to help with puppy and kitten socialization for new cats and dogs at the building. The team also helped create dog toys that help reduce stress and anxiety in the dogs that are cared for at the shelter. As much as we were able to contribute to this great organization, I think everyone felt that we gained much more; it was a rewarding, education, and fun experience!

- Annie O'Brien, Product Consultant

Ronald McDonald House

We had 13 participants on our team, including one from our sister company TAB! We split up into three groups who all helped with housekeeping for The Ronald McDonald House. The first group was in charge of community outreach. They handed out snacks to the public to raise awareness and collect donations for the house. The second group cleaned up and organized their toy closet, which is an important experience for families staying at The Ronald McDonald House because every child who enters the home gets a ticket to choose one item from the closet. The final group cleaned the community fridges in the kitchen. It was an extremely rewarding experience, and we had a great time together!

- Val Sokola, Executive Assistant

Internet of Elephants

In the past 40 years, the world has lost 50% of its wildlife and the Internet of Elephants (IOE) is an organization committed to make a change. In order to get millions of people to pay attention to wildlife every day, IoE aims to create digital experiences and games that make conservation fun for anyone.  With their recent release of Safari Central to the app store, we had 17 Solsties that spent their day volunteering their talents to help improve and promote the application. Together, we broke into 3 groups of focus:

Lean Prototype Team:

This team focused on how they could test the MVP of Safari Central. They also did some brainstorming around new features and functionality that could be included in the game aligned to the cause.

Video Content Team: This team produced a 30 second advertisement of people enjoying Safari Central's AR experience. This video will be used as a marketing tool to help generate excitement for the experience. Check it out here!

User Research Team: This team pulled together a UX survey and conducted research across the office and throughout our office building to get real-time feedback on how the experience can be improved. 

- Leanne Shupe, Client Engagement Manager

Open Books

Our group of 10 Solsties volunteered at Open Books, a nonprofit organization that provides literacy enrichment programs for students. Due to the nature of their events and programs, Open Books recently built a brand new reading stage that can accommodate 40+ children. However, they needed help organizing the room around this re-construction. Together we worked to reorganize book shelves, move couches, remove old books, and move-in and stock newly donated books. Open Books almost ran out of tasks for us to do since we were burning through them. I'm super proud of this group!

- Ahmad Hasan, QA Consultant