RoleCall Gives Back: 4 Nonprofits We’re Proud to Support This Year (and a few more we love)

Written By Emily Wenzel

Giving back to our communities is a key part of the company culture at RoleCall. To model and facilitate this work, our founders set aside a portion of this year’s profits to be donated to organizations of full-time employees’ choosing. We created a set of parameters around this end-of-year giving to ensure it aligns with our core values as a company.  

Core values:

  • Community Building/Community Development 

  • Arts & Culture

  • Education 

  • Minority-owned business

  • Paths to prosperity and empowerment for disenfranchised groups

Staff Choices: 

Tim Carty, Chief Strategy Officer

I'll be donating to 4Cs of Johnson County. As all of us in economic development know, access to childcare and impactful early childhood education is critical to the immediate and future success of a community. 4Cs  addresses challenges to the community’s child care system and serves as a resource for the development of new programs.

Missie Forbes out in front of 4Cs holding a sign that says "careforce for our workforce"

4Cs and their wonderful Executive Director, Missie Forbes, serve on the Johnson County Child Care Coalition Leadership Team to address childcare issues and find other ways to address gaps in service and barriers to success for anyone interested in the field of early childhood education.

Removing barriers to childcare — cost, transportation, programming — can lift a community in innumerable ways. 4Cs is working toward that goal, and I'm very proud to contribute to their mission of leveling the playing field so that all children, regardless of socioeconomic status, receive a quality early educational experience that provides a pathway to kindergarten readiness.

Winona Dimeo-Ediger, Chief Creative Officer

As soon as we decided to enact a company giving program, I knew my contribution would go to Berston Field House. This community center and sports complex in Flint, MI, is an incredibly special place that embodies the best of the communities we serve: inclusion, collaboration, tenacity, authenticity, and opportunity for all. 

We got to take a tour of Berston when we visited Flint earlier this year, and hearing Berston's story from its executive director, Bryant "BB" Nolden, is something I'll never forget. BB grew up in North Flint and used to come to Berston as a kid. When Flint fell on hard times, North Flint got hit hardest, and the building fell into disrepair. BB would let himself in at night to clean it. He eventually started fundraising and organizing volunteers to take care of it. Berston didn't just come back to life — it flourished. It's about to undergo a $20 million renovation, all because of a person and a community that didn't give up.

This contribution feels both timely and bittersweet because BB passed away in early December. I'm grateful to be able to honor him and his incredible legacy with this donation.

Emily Wenzel, Director of Operations

One of the things I’m most passionate about is food and food systems. I believe no one should go to bed hungry, especially not while living in a country that throws away millions of pounds of produce every year. For this reason, I am directing my donation to Equitable Giving Circle, a mutual aid nonprofit in Portland, OR run by Black women and femmes that feeds people, no questions asked. 

EGC’s most visible program provides food for BIPOC Portlanders that is purchased – at full price – from local BIPOC farmers and makers. They also provide rent and down payment assistance to families in need, and are fundraising to buy a building to provide housing for Black single mothers. Beyond ensuring the people they serve are able to survive, EGC helps the community thrive through wellness initiatives, like facilitating the redistribution of over 17,000 plants to make people’s spaces brighter and healthier

As a white person with privilege, the best thing I can do with my money is invest it in communities of color. It’s even better when I can do that in a way that aligns with my other values, and directly supports the community I now call home. I’m grateful to both Equitable Giving Circle and RoleCall for providing a way for me to do this, especially at this critical time of year for fundraising. 

Brittney Stepanek, Chief Marketing Officer

Everyone’s life is or will be impacted by cancer in some form. On a personal-level, most recently for me in August of this year, my husband was diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most aggressive and lethal form of brain cancer (grade IV). We’ve never been so thankful to be surrounded by such a strong and supportive community.

One of RoleCall’s core values is Community Building & Development. There are many ways to define this, but for me lately, I interpret this as finding a home and comfortable community who can offer a compassionate support system, as well as help provide the means to a healthier and happier life for you to enjoy. This year, I’m proud to donate to Above + Beyond Cancer, a non-profit in Iowa who focuses both on recovery and prevention all-inclusive services and programs to all in efforts to create a healthier community, especially those impacted by cancer.

If you would like to join Britt’s community of support, her family has a GoFundMe account for Stephen’s care, and you can follow updates of their journey here.

If you're feeling inspired to give, here are a few more organizations from around the country we love that happen to align with our core values:

Emily Wenzel
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