This post was written by Heather Yamada-Hosley, senior HR generalist and NerdsPayItForward co-president.
Giving back to our local community is a passion for many Nerds at NerdWallet. NerdsPayItForward (NPIF), NerdWallet’s employee-led social impact group, works with two NerdWallet leaders to select a cause to support each quarter. Using this theme, NPIF chooses a charity to donate to, organizes a volunteer event and hosts related guest speakers at our headquarters.
For the last three months of 2018, our efforts focused on local youth. To do so, NPIF:
- Donated all proceeds from our in-office coffee bar to First Graduate, which guides young people starting in elementary school to become the first in their family to graduate college.
- Volunteered at Prescott School, which included reading books to children from pre-K through fifth grade. NPIF then donated the books to the school for the children to enjoy on their own.
NerdWallet CEO Tim Chen and VP of Product Kevin Yuann joined other NerdWallet employees for the Prescott School read-in. NPIF chose books that would appeal across grade levels, from picture books to graphic novels and adventure books.
In addition to our youth-themed efforts this past quarter, NPIF hosted two educational presentations. By the Bay provided nonpartisan information on local Bay Area ballots in an easy-to-digest format, and Jordan Sales, founder of 81 Cents, came to our headquarters to share educational information about the gender wage gap.
Outside of these efforts, we kept our yearly tradition to celebrate the “Quarter of Giving.” NPIF organized a prenatal supplies drive for expectant mothers who are homeless, as well as sponsored The Family Giving Tree’s Holiday Wish Drive. Nerds purchased more than 100 gifts for local children, adults and seniors in need to help make their holiday season a little brighter. With everything from dolls to Legos to movie tickets and scooters, Nerds pitched in to help bring joy to the families we sponsored.
Are you interested in learning more about our NPIF employee-led group? Email [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you!