Commercial Integrator January 2021 - 38

CONNECTED TO THE COMMUNITY
Community
Connected to the
BrightTree Studios Makes a Difference
Close to Its Pittsburgh Home
Veteran-owned BrightTree Studios supports local program for homeless veterans, offering that helps
local teachers and other organizations in and around Pittsburgh. by D. Craig MacCormack
BRIGHTTREE STUDIOS has been working
with Veterans Place of Washington for a
little more than a year now, with its largest
contribution being spending several hours
clearing a room that was intended to house
one of the area's homeless veterans of
supplies and other storage materials.
" As a veteran-owned firm (co-founder
and CEO Greg Robinson was in the U.S.
Army), we found this to be a cause that's
near and dear to our hearts, " says Na. " We
feel honored to work with an organization
that understands the sacrifice of military service
and is dedicated to finding resources
for those who've served. "
Veterans Place temporarily houses homeless
Pittsburgh-area veterans and provide
resources to help them find jobs and enroll
in rehabilitation programs and more.
" We've been looking for practical,
resourceful ways we can get hands-on work
done with the community, " says Na. " We
connected instantly with their executive director
and a couple of their volunteers, some
of the workers and the veterans, which has
been the most meaningful part of it all.
" As the partnership grows, we'll explore
larger corporate donations and different
ways we can assist with their many needs.
It's been an incredible process just getting
to see the work they do, the impact of the
small projects we've done for them and
mostly the work they're doing to better the
lives of veterans in and around Pittsburgh, "
he says.
Veterans Place is building some tiny
homes for local veterans in the area and
BrightTree might install some of the technology
for those homes, says Na.
BrightTree Studios has also worked
closely with The Education Partnership,
which provides resources for local teachers,
and could teach coding to some of the
teachers and their students as part of that
deal, says Na.
" That'll allow us to use what we know
38
BrightTree Studios staffers prioritize local charities when deciding which organizations
to help through their philanthropy.
and are experts at in a philanthropic way, "
he says.
BrightTree Studios has also collected
canned goods and food for Jubilee Soup
Kitchen, helped The Little Fox: Toby's Foundation
in handing out resources to parents
of children who suffered from Sudden Infant
Death Syndrome, and collected toys for Play
It Forward Pittsburgh's annual toy drive.
The company may also get involved in
local sustainability efforts such as a river
cleanup, in part because of co-founder/
president Bill McIntosh's affinity for outdoor
activities.
Keeping It Local
It's important that BrightTree's philanthropy
is done with local charities, says Na.
" One thing we knew is we wanted to
be able to visit, be with them in person, "
he says. " We've come out of a community
that's given so much to us. It made sense to
give back to that community. "
BrightTree's monthly Friday Fun Day - the
last Friday of every month - is monthly dedicated
to employee service projects, says Na.
" It's nice to take a breath, do someCommercial
Integrator JANUARY 2021
thing fun with the company and meet new
people, getting out there and serving, " he
says. " A lot of the causes we've aligned ourselves
with wrap around the philosophy of
the company. We're entering those worlds
from a different door.
" Any organization should be doing its
part to be a good steward of its city, of its
community, of its world. We try to do that
in very small ways. The little that we can do,
that matters to us, " says Na.
Philanthropy is about what you do for
others, not what you can get out of it from
them, he says.
" You're not doing it so you can tweet
about it or for a photo op, " says Na. " You're
doing it so you can leave someone's life a
little better. When you hear from someone
you've helped, it's humbling, it's touching,
it's moving, it inspires you to keep going.
" If it were all about writing checks,
couldn't call it community engagement.
There's more than that that's important.
We just love getting out of the office and
into the field, getting to know people
and their stories - their mission and their
values, " he says.
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Commercial Integrator January 2021

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