No Doubt About It
December 18, 2020 | Wendy B. White
This has been a challenging year for us all. It is easy to turn inward, as individuals and as organizations, to become focused on our own needs, stability, and for some, survival. It is not a year where most of us would naturally extend ourselves and look for ways to give back or to search out avenues to share our time, money and talents with others.
However, studies show that our ability to be other-focused and contribute time volunteering brings happiness and improves our own well-being. “Research suggests that volunteers aren’t just helping the communities they serve. People who volunteer actually experience a boost in their mental health — good news at a time when more than a third of Americans report feeling symptoms of anxiety or depression.” Washington Post
Doing Well by Doing Good
Since Continuum was founded in 1995, we have been dedicated to giving back to the communities where we live and work. From the beginning, we measured our success as a company by the Triple Bottom Line and our positive impact on people, planet and profit. However, when COVID hit, we too turned inward and focused on surviving the initial Q2 impacts and a 75% drop in consulting work. Fortunately, our efforts to reinvent ourselves for these times is paying off, and we have been able to redesign our services to meet the current and emerging client consulting needs. Our business is beginning to boom again.
During that initial COVID stretch, we lost sight of our dedication to giving back.
In an effort to realign with our values, in October we made the decision to dedicate 5% of our gross sales to fund our ‘give back’ programs. This was not an easy decision given that we were still figuring out how to make payroll that month, but our commitment to this value was so clear that my business partner and I decided that even if we needed to take a cut in salary, we would be sure that the 5% went into our giving fund. Interestingly, looking back in QuickBooks, our decision to donate 5% of our gross sales directly correlated with the upward shift in contracts for the rest of the year.
In the past, we have leveraged the funds to support such programs as the “Lets Choose Love Movement”, 10 Greatest Gifts Project, the Continuum Blues Jam, Film and Music Festivals and Sister Cities youth exchanges.
With the pandemic still raging, our human needs are more basic right now. Throughout the world, people are hungry, soup kitchen lines are long and food pantry shelves empty. So today, we will be providing support to Manna Food Bank in Asheville, North Carolina, and Project Angel Heart in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It feels really good to be able to use our gifts and talents to contribute to our communities.
Martin Luther King once said during a speech in Montgomery, Alabama, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, what are you doing for others?”
This is a great time to ask ourselves that question. The challenges we all face are great. How can we each leverage our talents and resources to give back during this holiday season and throughout the year?
Wendy B. White is co-founder and partner with Continuum Consulting Services. She recently launched “Let’s Choose Love,” a social movement that provides a forum for sharing ideas, resources, new philosophies and stories that she hopes will challenge, stretch and inspire us to expand our thinking and possibilities for the future.