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Lassoverse, our employee-led company culture initiative focuses on including, recognizing, and supporting every Lassonian, and celebrating what makes our team unique and powerful. We encourage each person to take pride in their passions and individuality, allowing us to get to know each other better and lend support and encouragement.
One branch of Lassoverse is Community Service, which empowers each individual at Lasso to support causes that are near and dear to their hearts. The committee coordinated multiple in-person volunteer events and launched a company-wide charity challenge, encouraging everyone to participate and give back to their communities. Lassonians fully embraced this pillar of our company culture by volunteering in person with their teammates or at home in their own cities, connecting across departments and collaborating across the country.
Our First Community Service Challenge
In the month of November, we ran our first company-wide initiative during which our departments were broken into teams and coordinated volunteer or donation projects to accumulate points for their team. Lassonians donated their own time, clothes, supplies, and money to over 15 organizations including Tenfold, Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, Colorado Gives 365, and the North Fork Animal Welfare League!
Each organization was specifically chosen by our team, so some Lassonians provided first-hand accounts of why these organizations are important to them:
Karishma Vaswani, Technical Account Manager
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“I kicked off some in-person volunteering here in NY at the West Side Campaign Against Hunger! We spent the morning unloading produce and turkey and organizing grocery bundles for meal distribution that the organization runs daily. They generally have around 200 people come by to pick up grocery bundles. However, during the holiday season, that number can go up to 500! This was a great way to start a workday and to get involved in helping out the community!”
Ben Closson, Quality Assurance Engineer
“As part of Lassoverse's Community Service Initiative, I decided to donate to the non-profit No Kid Hungry. Amid 40-year record inflation, I am aware that those most affected by this are those who already struggled to feed themselves and their children when prices were 9% or more cheaper. Ideally, I'd like to buy baby formula for young parents that are struggling to locate any amidst these shortages that have lasted months on end. In order to avoid removing limited available stock from stores near me, I am trusting No Kid Hungry to ethically source their formula and provide it to kids in need. I encourage my coworkers to find a cause that is meaningful to you and give back in any way you can.”
Bobby Shaw, Product Designer
“‘Community’ and ‘service’ are two words that, both, separately provide quality and betterment to our lives and those around us. I’m so grateful that Lasso is an environment that challenges, encourages, and fosters ways for us to serve our communities wherever we’re at and in whatever ways our hearts resonate most with.
I set out online to help two places that mean so much to me and my family:
- Community First! Village - a 51-acre master-planned community that provides affordable, permanent housing and a supportive community for men and women coming out of chronic homelessness - an issue that many metropolitan areas like Austin are seeking to provide solutions and assistance to - and are doing just that.
- Hydrocephalus Association - Hydrocephalus is a chronic, neurological condition caused by an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within cavities of the brain called ventricles, resulting in pressure on the brain. It affects over 1 million Americans, ranging from infants and older children to young and middle-aged adults, as well as seniors. My father-in-law was impacted later in life with this disease and giving to a community that’s researching and making great strides meant so much in helping those that continue to fight and walk through life with hydrocephalus.”
Danilo Nestor, Senior Technical Account Manager
“Community service has always been an important part of my life. I’m grateful that this is shaping to become a major pillar in our Lasso community. On Saturday Mornings, I volunteer at a nonprofit organization called Minds Matter NYC. Minds Matter NYC is a college readiness and retention program for high-achieving low-income NYC high school students. I join my mentee and our triad teams to guide them to a four-year college-university and to be set up for success. Over the past month, we have been focused on getting my mentee's college and scholarship applications ready for the upcoming deadlines. This can be a stressful time, so our aim is to ensure that all students have the resources they need to excel no matter their financial circumstances.”
Our Challenge Winners!
This initiative allowed our team to give back, donate, and volunteer together with a little bit of friendly competition. Each team contributed to our impact as a company but only one team could be the winner. Winning the competition by just one point was our Marketing and Operations teams! A very close 2nd place went to our Product and Design teams!
As incredible supporters of community service and charity, our founders Greg Field and Mike DiNorscio, personally pledged to donate to an organization of the winners’ choice. The winning team chose to split this final donation between:
- The Austin Humane Society, a no-kill shelter providing life-saving programs for animals, educational events for people of all ages, and aiding in emergency response
- Caritas of Austin, a nonprofit whose mission is to prevent and end homelessness for people in Greater Austin, TX
In-Person Volunteer Events in Austin and Brooklyn
Our Austin and Brooklyn offices coordinated in-person events for those that live in the area to come together as a team while supporting their local communities.
The Austin office chose to volunteer at the Austin Humane Society and spent an evening making enrichment toys for the pets currently living at the shelter. This brought together members of our Engineering, Marketing, Operations, Client Services, and Leadership teams, and one lucky kitty was even adopted at the end of the event!
The Brooklyn office came together for an after-hours trash walk in the neighborhood surrounding our building. They picked up almost 50lbs of trash and enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with teammates they don’t work with on a regular basis! Lassonians in Brooklyn also organized a collection of warm apparel for the Rising Sun Outreach Nonprofit Organization's Winter Coat Drive, helping those in need to stay extra warm during the cold winter months.
Giving Back to Our Healthcare Community
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In addition to our Community Service committee-led events, Lasso sponsored the New York City Health Business Leader’s (NYCHBL) Healthcare Rocks charity concert on December 14th in NYC. Our Sales Director, Emily Chibaro, and Senior Technical Account Manager, Danilo Nestor, attended the event to represent Lasso and support our healthcare community. The event was a huge success, featuring singers and bands from within the NYC healthcare space and raising money for Vibrant Emotional Health and the New York Common Pantry. We’re grateful for our partnership with NYCHBL and the opportunity to continue supporting our industry in a variety of ways.
Lasso Is Committed to Supporting Our Team and Our Communities
Our Community Service branch has empowered so many Lassonians to continue donating to the charities and organizations they care about. We’re excited to grow with more challenges, in-person volunteering events, and company sponsorships in 2023. Building our company culture and encouraging each other is central to who we are as Lasso and giving back has been a wonderful way to do exactly that. This has been a tremendous way to enter the holiday season, and we are thankful for each Lassonian who participated and who makes Lasso a wonderful place to be every day.
