Earlier this year, the ThankView team spent a day digging, caulking, nailing and sawing at a Habitat for Humanity construction site in Queens.
In September 2019, the ThankView team divided up in two teams to create a real-life Candyland for a family shelter in Manhattan and a fall festival for a shelter in Brooklyn.
ThankView volunteer days vary in theme, but whether the focus is painting a house or setting up carnival games for kids, the goal stays the same: building a culture of gratitude.
According to ThankView Chief Operating Officer Mariah Okrongly both experiences were different but both rewarding in their own way.
“At Habitat, people got to learn new skills and be part of many groups of volunteers over several months building someone a home. With the Volunteers for America, we got to meet the people and have a lot more interaction.”
There are practical reasons to encourage volunteerism within a company. A study from the University of Georgia, which compiled two different surveys of employed volunteers, found that volunteering actually raises on-the-job performance. Rodell’s theory is that improved productivity comes from an influx of meaning in employees’ lives gained through charitable work.”
Finding meaning in one’s work will most likely lead to happy more productive employees. But the reason for ThankView’s volunteer day runs deeper than that for its founders, JD, Keith, Mariah and Jerry. According to Mariah:
“ThankView is a company that was started with gratitude as the driving force. We believe in the impact and value of gratitude. Taking that value one step further we decided that giving back as a team was important, not only are we able to support the amazing city that we work in, but we also get to spend time with one another outside of the office.”
