Last week, ReadyTalk employees participated in the 3^rd Annual Colorado Gives Day.  Each year, ReadyTalk matches up to $500 per employee in charitable giving. To up the ante, our Charitable Contributions Committee also matches each employee donation made on Colorado Gives Day.  So a $50 donation to my favorite non-profit  becomes $150 with the ReadyTalk matches.

Our goal this year was $3500 in employee donations. I'm thrilled to report that we blew past that with over $4000 donated! That means ReadyTalk and it's employees donated over $12,000 to Colorado charities in a single day. Almost 30% of our employees participated in the drive donating to more than 50 local non-profits. How awesome is that?!

In addition to our annual participation in Colorado Gives Day, ReadyTalk employees have made giving back a priority throughout 2012.  Employees spent more than 500 hours volunteering at local non-profits this year. Some of our favorites include Habitat for Humanity, Junior Achievement, Playworks and our Skyline Park Stewardship. 

And there is no shortage of giving back at the corporate level either. Our Charitable Contributions Committee donated close to $80,000 to Colorado non-profits this year. Over $35,000 of that was designated to supporting children and educational organizations. These donations are also driven by our employees as they submit requests to the committee for the charities they work with throughout the year. In the same vein, ReadyTalk has donated over $30,000 in in-kind services so far this year.

So hats off to ReadyTalk and my fellow employees. You have truly demonstrated what giving back is all about. I can't wait to see what we accomplish in 2013!