Celebrating 25 Years with $25,000 Donation Program

As part of Working Solutions’ 25th anniversary celebration, the company wanted to give back to the communities and people that helped build and sustain it by creating the “Five for 25” recognition program. Our contact center agents, the lifeblood of our company success, who provide customer service support to our clients, were asked to nominate their favorite charities.

Shutterstock; Photo by Marta Sher

While giving back has always been a large part of our company culture, our contracting agents are particularly charitable and caring. During this year’s Stand Up 2 Cancer fundraiser, more than 400 agents fielded phone calls and approximately 25% donated all or part of their earnings.  It speaks well of the character of our company and leader, Kim Houlne.

Our agents are why we’ve thrived for the past two-and-a-half decades,” said Kim Houlne, company founder and chief executive. “We want to recognize their hard work and support by contributing to the community organizations that mean the most to these agents.

In all, more than 150 nonprofits were submitted for consideration, and they represent the diversity and breadth of our agent community.  The program committee was then tasked with selecting five nonprofits, giving $5,000 to each notable organization, for a total of $25,000.

While difficult to narrow down the worthy causes, the committee painstakingly chose these nonprofits:

• St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – An overwhelming choice by agents, St. Jude leads the way in how the world understands, treats, and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. The pediatric treatment and research facility in Memphis, Tennessee, does not charge patients for their care.
• Alzheimer’s Association – Founded by a group of family members and individuals who recognized the need to unite caregivers, this organization is known for its dedication to end the disease and all other dementia and provides support to those facing. It accelerates global research, drives risk reduction and early detection, and maximizes quality care.
• Isaiah 117 House – This foundation places children into a transition home, where caring volunteers provide them love and support while they await safe foster placement. Founder and director Ronda Paulson cites Isaiah 1:17 in doing this work.
• The Trevor Project – The 24/7 project is the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning) young people. Its site reads: “You deserve a welcoming, loving world. And so do the people you care about.”
• Southeastern Guide Dogs – This organization breeds, raises and trains “elite guide dogs, service dogs and skilled companion dogs” It provides guide dogs to the visually impaired, veterans with disabilities, and children with significant challenges, including impaired vision and loss of a parent in the military.

Working Solutions is thrilled to support these nonprofits as they improve lives and strengthen the communities where we live and work. After all this time, the principle we founded the company on still resonates: serve our clients and their customers the way we’d like to be treated by showing compassion and consideration to others.

Cheers to our first 25 years and to the next!