Chamber bridges the gap between hi-tech and high touch organizations by facilitating impactful introductions

Community Services Agency (CSA) held their annual Backpack Drive Aug. 9, 2010. Hundreds of Mountain View, Los Altos, and Los Altos Hills families came to the event. Mountain View based Intuit, maker of QuickBooks, Quicken and TurboTax, graciously sponsored the day. Each child was given a new backpack and a voucher for a pair of shoes at Payless Shoes. There were Jamba Juice smoothies, Sprinkles cupcakes and wrist bands for everyone. Intuit employees and their executive team led the families around the CSA facility as the children picked out a backpack and were entertained by several mimes.

Terilyn Monroe, Intuit’s director of employee engagement, explained that donations and volunteerism are just two of the many ways Intuit employees live out one of the company’s six core operating values, We Care & Give Back. Three months ago, and as part of a worldwide volunteer effort company-wide, Intuit president and CEO,  Brad Smith, made a commitment to get his direct staff and the organization more involved in their headquarters’ community. Intuit partnered with the Chamber of Commerce to identify the most important social issues facing our community and to learn more about local non-profit organizations making a difference in each of those areas. Some of the issues were shocking – such as learning that 50 percent of the children in the Mountain View and Los Altos area live at or below the poverty level.

Chamber of Commerce Mountain View CEO, Oscar Garcia, and Membership Resource Manager, Dianna Eckhardt shared with Intuit information about Community Services Agency – the  community’s safety net providing critical support services that preserve and promote stability, self-reliance, and dignity. The Chamber facilitated the introduction between Intuit and CSA resulting in a first meeting. After Intuit met with CSA and learned that hundreds of children were turned away last year due to the decrease in backpack donations, Intuit realized this was a perfect fit and a great opportunity to help solve an important need for local school children.

Intuit employees donated the funds for 1,366 backpacks, while the company’s CEO Fund went toward the purchase of more than 1,600 shoe vouchers. Smith, a father himself, handed out cupcakes to the children waiting in line and shared how touched he was by the families that attended.   “I really wanted to get my staff out there and do something within the Mountain View area. We celebrated a tremendous year and what better way to cap this year than by giving back to our headquarters’ community.”

One of the Mountain View students that came for a backpack was Albert Torres. Albert is beginning his Junior year at Alta Vista High School. He said that he hopes to take automotive classes this year in high school to increase his chances of getting into the Automotive Technology classes at De Anza College. The hands-on automotive classes teach students how to restore and modify cars. Albert and his mother have an organic garden and they regularly give fresh produce to the food pantry at CSA to show thanks for all that CSA has done for them over the years.

Chamber of Commerce Mountain View CEO, Oscar Garcia, explained, “It’s great when an organization can help a local non-profit by writing a check, but it means so much more when they can get involved by showing up in person. Intuit is setting an example and inspiring other organizations to give on a local level. They’re also allowing their employees a chance to really get involved and connect with the community.”

The Chamber of Commerce Mountain View can find the perfect non-profit partnership for organizations seeking community involvement. Our extensive network of local non-profits provide direct service to the community. Whether the desire is to reach out to homeless, get involved with youth and education, help with environmental issues, or participate in the arts, the Chamber of Commerce can help! Please contact Dianna Eckhardt for more information. Dianna@chambermv.org, (650) 968-8378 ext 11.