Day of Difference
January 27, 2017Community
BDA hosts annual Day of Difference to support charities in the greater Seattle area.
The entire company took a day off work to volunteer in the community. Participating non-profit locations included domestic violence prevention centers, food distribution warehouses, an animal rescue farm and a nearby homeless youth center. Associates split up into groups, loaded up the buses and spent the day out in their communities. See live tweets from the day at #BDADayofDifference.
CEO and co-founder of BDA, Jay Deutsch
Group 1: Domestic Violence Kitting – HQ Warehouse
BDA opened up its Woodinville warehouse for the day. Employees met for breakfast, opening remarks from CEO, Jay Deutsch, and loaded up buses for a day away from cubicle land! Here at the warehouse, 150 associates sorted, counted and packaged up women’s clothing and toiletries for domestic violence shelters in the area. And had fun while doing it!
Group 2: Friends of Youth – Kirkland
Located just around the corner of BDA HQ – Friends of Youth helps young people in challenging circumstances get their lives back on track. Programs include overnight youth shelters, in-home family support for teen parents, substance abuse counseling, and transitional housing for homeless young people. Friends of Youth receives donations from various shelters and had a surplus of product in the basement that needed sorting and organizing. So, 25 employees headed over to sift through donations by organizing, labeling boxes, and stocking shelves with toiletries, food and personal supplies (and a few did some yardwork)!
Interested in volunteering? Click here.
Group 3: Volunteers of America – Western Washington
Volunteers of America Western Washington (VOAWW) is a neighborhood service center with programs and services focused on self-sufficiency for the community’s most vulnerable individuals. More than 30 BDA'ers gathered in the VOAWW warehouse for a variety of tasks including sorting through 30+ pallets of donated food and produce, stocking shelves and re-organizing the food pantry to prepare for busy holiday food distribution. Other activities included deep-cleaning the pantry, bins, milk crates, and bagging bulk pet food.
Got food to donate? Click here.
Group 4: Domestic Violence Center - Snohomish County
The Domestic Violence Center of Snohomish County is the one and only in the county. Domestic violence prevention is near and dear to BDA after suffering the loss of an employee and dear friend, Susan, in 2011. With the help of BDA, Susan’s Youth Center opened up in 2014 in Susan’s honor. BDA employees enjoy volunteering at her center and seeing how it has grown to help so many children and families in need. Thirty-five employees headed over and separated into two groups: the outdoor yardwork group and the indoor deep-cleaning group. The outdoorsman built new raised vegetable beds, cleaned out garden beds and shoveled fresh dirt for the garden. Inside the youth center, BDA volunteers put together welcome bags for incoming domestic violence victims and deep cleaned toys and tables in the children's play area.
Want to support this cause? Click here.
Group 5: Food Lifeline
Otherwise known as the food banks’ food bank, Food Lifeline, re-directs good food from manufacturers, farmers, grocery stores and restaurants that might otherwise go to waste and provides meals to local food assistance programs. Nearly 50 BDA volunteers were stationed down at the “hunger solution center” sorting produce for the afternoon. In one afternoon, BDA employees sorted 17,500 pounds worth of food, enough to feed 196 families in the area.
Love Food Lifeline’s mission? Click here.
Group 6: Pasado's Safe Haven
The largest animal shelter in the Pacific Northwest, Pasado’s Safe Haven, is on a mission to end animal cruelty. Pasado’s investigates animal cruelty crimes and provides sanctuary and rehabilitation to animals who have suffered from abuse and neglect. Nearly 60, eager-to-help-employees traveled to the nonprofit’s rural acres of Monroe, WA to help clean pens and stalls for dogs, cats, cows, pigs, and donkeys. BDA volunteers spread out across the property and had fun cleaning and getting to know a few furry friends.
Want to help these animals, too? Click here.
For a full album of photo's from the day, head over to our Facebook page.
