Toward the end of every year, we kick off the Index Exchange Giving Season. It’s an opportunity to reflect back on all that we are thankful for, give back, and pay it forward to our local communities. This year, with so many of us still working remotely, we focused our efforts on providing a platform for the many wonderful charitable organizations that are working hard to make a positive impact around the world.
Members of our affinity groups—Index Pride, Index Black, Women in Eng, Index Exchange Women’s Network, and most recently, Index Net Zero—highlighted the organizations important to their causes. Indexers from across the company also brought forward organizations near and dear to them, such as The Farley Foundation, The Rising Star Foundation, The Legacy of Hope Foundation, and others. Sharing what we care about was a valuable and enlightening exercise in learning more about our colleagues and supporting each other.
We also partnered with The Shoebox Project, an organization dedicated to supporting women who are impacted by homelessness by distributing shoeboxes filled with gifts to local women. Indexers had the opportunity to donate towards a virtual shoebox or put together a physical shoebox of gifts. The idea behind The Shoebox Project is to include not only items of necessity, but also gifts that will make recipients feel special.
Helena Snyders, a member of our workplace team, created two gift-filled shoeboxes for the drive at our Toronto office, and reflected on why giving a meaningful gift is important to her.
“For as long as I can remember, my mum and I would participate in the Angel Tree program put on by my parents’ church. Putting together a shoebox of gifts felt reminiscent of this family tradition.”
Helena Snyders, manager, facilities
Index Exchange
The Index Exchange Giving Season is also a time to reflect on the programs we’ve run throughout the year, such as the Employee Donation Matching Program. This program matches donations Indexers make to registered charitable organizations of their choice up to $100 annually. We’ve matched donations to over 40 different organizations in 2021. It’s fantastic to see Indexers supporting a variety of causes, from animal shelters to fostering allyship with minority communities to educating youth. What’s more, we’ve seen Indexers focus more towards supporting smaller, local organizations where their impact can go a long way.
To raise awareness and support for a range of global causes, we partnered with Good Today. Each day, our team received a Slack message identifying that day’s cause along with two charities that support the cause. Indexers were then able to select one of the charities for Index to make a donation on their behalf.
Throughout the year, Index Exchange also contributes to our local communities. As a tech-based company, we have hardware like laptops, screens, and accessories that others can reuse. By partnering with the Electronic Recycling Association (ERA) in Canada and Reconome in the UK, we’ve had the opportunity to provide over 150 laptops and monitors to community organizations most in need of electronics, especially in the education sector, while also reducing our electronic waste.
So what’s in store for us in 2022? As a community team, we strive to support and build an organization that aligns with the Index core values. As we grow our community engagement initiatives, we’ll keep offering Indexers the opportunity to bring attention to causes most important to them. Indexers can continue to double their impact through our Employee Donation Matching Program, and there will always be a platform to share the work of charities and causes they support.
Our amazing affinity groups are an incredible source for highlighting important causes and organizations to support. Working closely with these employee resource groups and listening to their take on the most pressing concerns and issues is invaluable in directing our support as our giving programs and the Index Exchange Giving Season grow.
If you’re looking to join a company that prioritizes supporting our communities, be sure to explore our career opportunities.
