THE IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
By: Evan Lucyk
In a time when it seems as if a focus on self and one’s own health and well-being have become paramount, Bit Service has made it a priority to continue looking outside of ourselves and our company’s well-being and focus on serving our community and fellow neighbours.
While volunteering and supporting the community is not a new concept by any means—and giving back is something that we have been doing for decades now—we believe that it is essential. We wanted to share a bit of what we have been doing, are currently doing, and what we have exciting plans to do soon as we head into this post-COVID world.
At Bit Service, we know that community engagement is significant for personal and professional reasons, but in a career setting, we believe that the importance has many facets. Far too often, we can focus our careers on financial goals and lose sight of the important things affecting the communities we work and operate in. By actively engaging in volunteer efforts, it serves as a grounding element for our lives. We believe this is key to ensuring we appreciate the perspective gained from experiencing the challenges our communities face and what we can do to help those around us.
It also helps us get vital firsthand experiences that aid in our awareness and wider perspectives that we would otherwise not have access to. Serving our community (and you) makes us better as a company and as individuals.
Anyone already familiar with the Bit Service team will know that we are very active in our community. While we have been (like everyone) forced to sit a bit on the sidelines as far as in-person volunteering is concerned, we are excited to be able to go back out and get face-to-face with those we serve again.
Our President and CEO, Scott Bahr, said it best when he explained the current state of affairs due to the recent COVID restrictions. “This last year, we haven’t been able to do any [volunteering]; they would accept donations but for the most part there was no opportunity to actually go in and do the work. Being able to be hands-on is one of those things that was just very enriching for our team. It’s very much in the same way as professional development, just to be able to go and experience [firsthand]. You’ll gain a new perspective, a little new appreciation for life. Given the fact that you have a more complete understanding of the challenges that other people in the community have, that we can get kind of isolated in our little bubbles at work and kind of forget a lot of people have a lot more challenges than we do.”
Scott also shared a bit more about our community and what we have been doing to serve those in it. “In terms of community support, we focus on organizations and opportunities which enhance the lives of our Indigenous people, women and marginalized youth. Organizations such as YWCA Saskatoon, Saskatoon Interval House, Big Brother Big Sisters [and] White Buffalo Youth Lodge do great work for our community. White Buffalo Youth Lodge hosts a wonderful event every year where they provide school supplies for our inner city children, who otherwise may risk going without. We send as many of our employees that we can, go help at the event and fill backpacks with school supplies and hand them out to the kids. We have local community schools that we volunteer at, where the schools are typically housed by some more marginalized community groups, and it’s ones that just need a little extra help. We work with Big Brothers Big Sisters on their initiatives as well.”
The following list is just a small window into the organizations that Bit Service is proud to support:
White Buffalo Youth Lodge Fill the Backpack Campaign
Wîcihitowin Indigenous Engagement Conference
St. Mary’s Education and Wellness Center – Christmas Angel Program
Saskatoon Friendship Inn Campaign
YWCA Saskatoon Women’s Crisis shelter
YWCA Saskatoon Women of Distinction Awards
Saskatoon Interval House
Big Brothers Big Sisters Saskatoon
Women in Mining/Women in Nuclear
Truth and Reconciliation Courtyard – Good Spirit School Division
Not stopping there, to lead by example, Scott has gone above and beyond his company’s volunteering and sponsorships to dedicate his time and efforts as a current board member for Saskatoon Interval House. He meets regularly to aid in operational and policy decisions for the shelter and its long-term residence. Scott is also an active mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters Saskatoon and for a young professional in the WIM/WIN – SK Mentorship Program.
WHAT’S NEXT?
We are looking forward to the fall and being able to return to helping our favourite organizations in person after the long year of attempting remote assistance.
To learn more about Bit Service’s volunteer work or to explore how we can help you with your specific needs, contact us today.