Many of us at AppLovin have long been admirers and supporters of Project Open Hand, a local nonprofit that provides nutritious meals to seniors and the critically ill, so it made sense for the company to support its work.
Our first volunteer event with Project Open Hand was during the 2014 holidays, when 16 of us gathered to prepare meals – everything from food preparation in the kitchen (i.e. cutting vegetables and fruit) to sorting and boxing meals. It was such an amazing experience that we had to do it again, and given how much success AppLovin has seen in the past year, we knew we needed to give back into the community on a consistent basis.
So more recently, AppLovin employees joined forces to help make applesauce for Project Open Hand. We took off from the office a bit early (with full support from management, of course!) and set about dicing two dozen buckets of apples for a meal for the coming weekend. Coming from a company that is so focused on efficiency, of course some of us couldn’t resist devising advanced processes to expedite the work, like pairing with another person with one removing stems and seeds and the other proceeding to cut the apple in slices (like I said, advanced stuff). There was also a little healthy competition: Who could get through the most buckets of apples?
Similar to our previous work with Project Open Hand, this was a great experience — we genuinely enjoyed the work, knowing that we were helping to put good food on the tables of people who need it, and we enjoyed the time with each other as well. While dicing apples together wasn’t meant to be a team-building event, it was similar in many ways — it broke the ice among people who didn’t know each other very well, and everyone who came into the office the next morning felt upbeat and with a greater sense of connection.
We will definitely do more volunteer events with Project Open Hand, and not just because we enjoyed it. It’s important for businesses and individuals to support their local communities. Volunteering with Project Open Hand is a great way give back, as is making a donation.
Our next volunteer event for Project Open Hand is scheduled for mid-November, and we are already looking forward to it!
