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GivingTuesday 2021

Sheila Burkett // News
GivingTuesday 2021

Who will you support on GivingTuesday?

In 2012, GivingTuesday was created to encourage people to open their hearts and their wallets to help others. It has grown into a global movement that inspires people to give, collaborate and celebrate generosity. What began as a single day to encourage generosity has transformed into a worldwide movement, with organizations, communities and groups across the globe sponsoring #GivingTuesday campaigns throughout the year. November 30, 2021, is the organization's annual celebration of millions of acts of generosity and an opportunity to reflect on how that same spirit is embodied every day at Spry Digital.

Prior to starting Spry Digital, I worked with nonprofit organizations (NPOs) to leverage open-source and free digital solutions to solve their operational challenges. As we built Spry Digital over the past 11 years, we found joy in working with NPOs on their digital solutions. We rely on open-source communities (thank you, WordPress and Drupal) to maintain the content management system (CMS) platforms we use to create unified, easy-to-use solutions. Each year, we find ways to work with organizations in the community on their digital platforms and provide them financial discounts as one of our giving practices. 

Woven throughout our company is the spirit of giving time, talent and support. Many of our team members serve on boards throughout the region. I’d like to share just a few examples of how our team has engaged in the community:

  • Catherine Cares was founded by Wayne Turley, our Chief Operations Officer, and his wife Lauren. Their organization provides Heartbeat Bears and gift cards to families of babies who receive prenatal or postnatal life-threatening diagnoses. 
  • Over the past several years, we have worked with the local St. Louis Public Schools Hodgen Tech Academy, teaching elementary students about game development and website design, as well as  providing much-needed supplies. Dawn Hieger, Chief Relationship Officer, honored her father by accepting donations that transformed the school’s library into a vibrant area where students want to learn and read. We have collected hundreds of new and gently used books for the students to have as their very own. 
  • Senior Full Stack Developer George Agathos built a website for Stony Brook University’s radio station in 2007. Today, he is helping to rebuild the website along with the station’s student employees, whom he is mentoring.
  • Our Chief Purpose Officer, Julia Koelsch, is rowing this month to raise money for Girls on the Run St. Louis. This organization, which operates a transformational youth development program for girls in grades 3–8, has been our client for many years. 

 

These past couple of years have driven home the importance of purpose, passion and community. Finding ways to support NPOs in the St. Louis area and around the country is key to Spry Digital – both the organization and the individuals who comprise our team. We embrace the spirit of generosity and make space and time for our employees to work on NPO projects and to give back. 

We believe we are making a difference. You can, too. Be a part of #GivingTuesday, and consider supporting our NPO clients. 

 

Our NPO Clients

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