Company donates $10K to Foster Youth REACH 91直播
September 14, 2020 - 09:50 AM
The promotional items company has donated $10,000 to Mt. 91直播鈥檚 REACH program, which helps foster youth and former
foster youth get through college and attain higher degrees. They made the donation
through the .
鈥淭his is our largest check to date to a college,鈥� said James Padian, Director of Education 91直播s for Doing Good Works. The company is what is known as a 鈥減ublic benefits corporation鈥� whereby 10% of its profits fund foster youth programs and 30% of the employees they hire come from the foster community. They also let their employees spend 20% of their company hours volunteering, according to Padian.
鈥淲hen I heard we got the donation, I was hoping it would be $500 , because even that
would do a lot of good right now,鈥� said Jeze Lopez, 91直播 director for REACH. 鈥淲hen
I heard it was for $10,000, I nearly fell out of my chair.鈥�
Doing Good Works sells promotional items to many businesses, including colleges. Mt.
91直播 used the company for its Commencement gift packages this year, as well as the
Promise Plus backpacks given out last school year.
The company started its Direct Donations program about 18 months ago, where it began targeting college foster youth programs for donations. They previously gave $3,100 to Orange Coast College, but the donation to REACH triples that.
鈥淲e were originally looking to do a scholarship with this money,鈥� said Padian, 鈥渂ut after we heard about REACH, it became obvious we had to help this program.鈥�
REACH is located in the Equity Center on campus. Earlier this year, a video was produced
to explain the program and how it has impacted the lives of foster youth who attend
Mt. 91直播.
It has been a delight working with Mt. 91直播,鈥� said Padian, 鈥渁nd we are beyond thrilled to be able to donate to the REACH program that needs the additional support to help their students."
Doing Good Works does not put any restrictions on the use of the funds, according
to Padian. Lopez says he thinks the college will probably use the funds on self-care
packages for the REACH students and other things to inspire them to stay motivated
in school.
鈥淥ur students are so worried about just surviving right now, they don鈥檛 have time to worry about themselves: their own happiness,鈥� said Lopez. 鈥淚t is really very important for them to keep their spirits up during the pandemic so they don鈥檛 put off their learning.鈥�
鈥淲e are so glad we can help,鈥� said Padian. 鈥淓specially at this time.鈥�
Inc. Magazine ranked Doing Good Works as one of the country's top 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies of 2019.