On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Next Day Animations activated a plan we’ve been dreaming up for months: Volunteer Day!
Volunteering has always been a part of our company culture. In the past, we’ve hosted school groups, lifted heavy objects with Habitat for Humanity, and offered pro bono explainer animations through our annual grant for nonprofits. Many of our employees regularly volunteer in their spare time, and we track those hours to recognize their dedication.
So what is Volunteer Day?
A day where everyone on our team had the chance to step back from their normal work, and instead offer their time and talents to organizations they believe in. We wanted to continue to be involved in our communities, to build relationships, and to learn more about what these rad nonprofits do. With a team spread across North America, we volunteered with a variety of organizations to make this a company-wide, but also local event.
On Volunteer Day we:
- Packaged meals with Moveable Feast, a Baltimore nonprofit that provides meals to people living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
- Created six videos in the course of a single day– that’s why they call us Same Day Animations!– with MN350, a Minnesota organization dedicated to fighting climate change. Special shout out to Ian Fishman, who is the voice for so many of our explainer animations. He donated his time and vocal cords to the project!
- Organized the office of Oregon Adaptive Sports, a Bend nonprofit that provides outdoor recreational experiences to people with disabilities.
In our conversations after, we talked about how much we enjoyed getting to know these organizations, challenging ourselves with different types of tasks and different time frames, connecting with coworkers, and working of projects we’re passionate about. We’re looking to whatever future Volunteer Days may hold!
