BAND-IT Creates Community Impact by Living Their Values Through Volunteerism

On Friday, July 23, one of our Mile High United Way Volunteerism Sponsors, BAND-IT, held their annual Day of Service at Garden Place Academy in Denver.

About 50 volunteers from BAND-IT showed up ready to make our community a little better, brighter, and happier. Days of Service with partners such as BAND-IT have an incredible impact. Director of Operations, Corey Bailey, said, “It gives us an opportunity to ensure that we can build team chemistry and comradery, while at the same time giving back to the neighborhood.”

Though Mile High United Way has worked with BAND-IT for over 20 years, the company has reaffirmed its community engagement commitment with us. Five years ago, BAND-IT funded emergent needs work at Garden Place and Swansea elementary schools through our United Neighborhoods program. Mile High United Way helped coordinate their monthly volunteer projects all around the city. Since then, it has evolved into a full-blown community engagement partnership between BAND-IT and Mile High United Way, where Mile High United Way serves as a powerful partner in BAND-IT’s Globeville and Elyria-Swansea (GES)-specific community impact plan. Employees are able to volunteer during BAND-IT Cares Days by participating in kit builds at our office or on volunteer projects based at Garden Place Academy or at parks in GES.

For this year’s day of service, BAND-IT volunteers set to work cleaning, working in the garden, and tackling other beautification projects around the campus. These projects enable the students, faculty, and staff at Garden Place Academy to start back to school fully prepared for the upcoming year.

“There’s no way that we would have been able to do all that with the staff, so this makes a huge difference as far as the beautification of the school, cleanliness, and being able to even get into our cage to get to the curriculum,” Garden Place Academy principal, Andrea Renteria, said.

At Mile High United Way, we pride ourselves on the ability to match our corporate partners with incredible volunteer opportunities that they can return to year after year. These annual opportunities build strong connections between our partners and the causes they are most passionate about.

“That’s what really made the difference,” Andrea said, “That they know the school, they’ve been here before. It feels like something familiar, and so it makes a big difference when they come in to serve year after year.”

Helping our partners live their missions and values is what we strive for when building sustainable Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs. As a hub for knowledge and connection to serving our community’s most pressing needs, we are grateful to have incredible partners like BAND-IT who care so deeply for our neighbors. “Here at BAND-IT, we live in the Denver area and some of our values are around community. These values that we live and the culture we create within the four walls emphasize that community is key,” Donald Sweeney, President at BAND-IT, said.

When our values and those of our partners like BAND-IT align, the ripple effect of our combined efforts can be seen throughout the community – at Garden Place Academy and beyond. And it’s that spirit of camaraderie, the willingness to do what is needed when and where it is needed, that makes our partnerships so strong. Thank you to BAND-IT for making a difference for those who need it most.