CHARLESTON, S.C., Nov. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/
-- Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB), the world's leading cloud
software company powering social good, recently launched the
Blackbaud After School Program to support employees globally who
are balancing work and child care in the remote world of COVID-19.
With a focus on virtual well-being, the company developed the
volunteer-based program to enable Blackbaud employees to share
their skills and hobbies with the children of their colleagues,
providing learning and entertainment for Blackbaud families and
allowing working caregivers time to step away and focus on other
tasks.
"With everything that's happening in our world this year, it's
important for all of us to lean in to help each other," said
Margaret "Maggie" Driscoll, Chief People Officer, Blackbaud. "We
are continually looking for ways to support employees, and we saw
an opportunity to create the Blackbaud After School Program to
bring people together, to provide some reprieve for our working
caregivers, and to continue strengthening our Blackbaud culture in
a virtual world."
The Blackbaud After School Program includes live sessions led by
employee volunteers, in addition to recordings and free resources
that can be accessed at any time, globally, for employees and their
families across the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and Costa
Rica. Sessions run from 20 to 50 minutes and cover a variety
of topics, including arts and crafts, music, beginner coding,
reading aloud, cooking tutorials, science experiments, yoga, games
and more. Employees can also sign up as live one-on-one tutors to
share their knowledge and expertise to help their colleagues'
children with their schoolwork.
Blackbaud commissioned customers to get involved in the program
as well, providing virtual business for these organizations. The
South Carolina Aquarium hosted a virtual field trip, while San
Antonio Zoo provided a wild animal meet-and-greet education
program. Children's Theatre Company, located in Minnesota, led a sensory storytime session for
imaginative play that focused on social-emotional learning,
sequencing and literacy skills.
Sarah Simpson, senior manager,
software development at Blackbaud, said that the After School
Program has been a gift during the COVID-19 pandemic. "My daughter
loves the program, and it has made me feel so much better about how
she spends some of her downtime at home," Simpson said. "Without
siblings or playdates during the pandemic, this program provided a
way for her to connect with other kids her age and enjoy
socializing and learning at the same time. I'm so grateful!"
With change being the only constant this year, Blackbaud is
looking to rethink change and turn it into opportunity and
impact. The Blackbaud After School Program is one example of how
the company is giving back to employees and how employees are
giving back to each other. Because all forms of generosity are
important, especially now, Blackbaud employees who lead or record
sessions for the After School Program are being given up to five
hours a month to volunteer during working hours. Employees
volunteering time outside of working hours can earn paid time off
through Blackbaud's Volunteer for Vacation program.
Alex Mendiola, Blackbaud software
instructor and former public-school teacher, volunteered to lead
several After School Program sessions in arts and crafts. "My plan
was to continue serving students this year by volunteering with
local schools, but with COVID-19 that was no longer an option,"
said Mendiola. "When the opportunity arose to volunteer with the
Blackbaud After School Program, I jumped at the chance to help. I
love making things and sharing that passion with kids, and seeing
the students come together to support each other in each session
and offer suggestions for success was so rewarding for me and a
great example for all of us."
Since the program launched in mid-September, Blackbaud
volunteers and participants have logged 380 hours of time together
in 115 live sessions, 14 of which have been run by Blackbaud
customers. Employee volunteers have demonstrated strong interest in
sharing their expertise and skills, including members of
Blackbaud's executive leadership team who also led sessions. The
company plans to expand opportunities for employee skills-based
volunteering in 2021.
About Blackbaud
Blackbaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) is the
world's leading cloud software company powering social good.
Serving the entire social good community—nonprofits, higher
education institutions, K–12 schools, healthcare organizations,
faith communities, arts and cultural organizations, foundations,
companies and individual change agents—Blackbaud connects and
empowers organizations to increase their impact through cloud
software, services, expertise and data intelligence. The Blackbaud
portfolio is tailored to the unique needs of vertical markets, with
solutions for fundraising and CRM, marketing, advocacy,
peer-to-peer fundraising, corporate social responsibility, school
management, ticketing, grantmaking, financial management, payment
processing and analytics. Serving the industry for more than three
decades, Blackbaud is headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, and has operations
in the United States, Australia, Canada, Costa
Rica and the United
Kingdom. For more information, visit
www.blackbaud.com or follow us on Twitter,
LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.
Media Inquiries
media@blackbaud.com
Forward-looking Statements
Except for historical
information, all of the statements, expectations, and assumptions
contained in this news release are forward-looking statements that
involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including statements
regarding expected benefits of products and product features.
Although Blackbaud attempts to be accurate in making these
forward-looking statements, it is possible that future
circumstances might differ from the assumptions on which such
statements are based. In addition, other important factors that
could cause results to differ materially include the following:
general economic risks; uncertainty regarding increased business
and renewals from existing customers; continued success in sales
growth; management of integration of acquired companies and other
risks associated with acquisitions; risks associated with
successful implementation of multiple integrated software products;
the ability to attract and retain key personnel; risks associated
with management of growth; lengthy sales and implementation cycles,
particularly in larger organization; technological changes that
make our products and services less competitive; and the other risk
factors set forth from time to time in the SEC filings for
Blackbaud, copies of which are available free of charge at the
SEC's website at www.sec.gov or upon request from Blackbaud's
investor relations department. All Blackbaud product names
appearing herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Blackbaud, Inc.
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SOURCE Blackbaud, Inc.