Citizenship at Textio

I started coaching girls’ basketball when I was still a kid myself. When I was in ninth grade, my dad and I coached my 6-year-old sister’s team. I’ve been coaching ever since.

Many years later, I volunteer as a coach at the YMCA where two of my daughters play. For two hours a week, it is a break from work, stress, and everything else. It is just me and 10 first- and second-grade girls learning to shoot, pass, and play defense. It’s as close to meditative as I get.

I love the Meredith Mathews YMCA in my urban neighborhood of Seattle. It serves a truly representative cross-section of the city, with great sponsorship to help families of all backgrounds participate in programs that are critical to youth development.

One of the most salient things about the people I work with at Textio is how many of them do similar volunteer work. The list of organizations where people donate their time is impressive. Here are just a few:

• FareStart, which helps the jobless and homeless find work in the culinary industry
• Destination Imagination, which organizes STEM and Arts events for children and fosters their creative growth
• King County Search and Rescue, which provides wilderness and rescue aid support to those in need
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, which provides mentorship and role-modeling to at-risk youth
• Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center, which provides equestrian training and resources to disabled children and adults
• Rainier Scholars, which provides educational opportunities and mentorship for students of color

Our personal work in the community is important to us. and I am pleased to say that in 2017 we are committing to make a greater contribution as a company as well.

Beginning in 2017, Textio will make a $500 donation to any non-profit or charitable organization where a Textio employee donates 3 work days of their time over the course of the year.

We want to honor the time put in by people at Textio and the missions of the organizations to which they contribute their time and talent. It is critical to us to share a work environment where good citizenship is a value, and we call upon other area startups to do the same. We owe so much to the community around us.

I am proud to work here, and honored to work with so many people who value citizenship enough to take time out of their busy lives to contribute.

Here’s to another year of good citizenship.