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Acts of RioTel Kindness – ARK 2016

RioTel Expands ARK Program with “ARK Serve” and “ARK Hire”

Spring, Texas, June 10, 2016:  RioTel is expanding their Acts of RioTel Kindness (ARK) Holiday giving program to make a year-round impact with 2 new programs. The ARK Holiday Program, established in 2011, supports their employees’ generous impulses to help others during the holiday season by providing them with the cash to do so more easily. ARK Holiday is a “pay-it-forward” style bonus giving program for employees. RioTel also makes several group donations to selected charities that are nominated and chosen by the employees in December each year. According to RioTel President, Karin Williams, “We have enjoyed the ARK program so much during the holidays, but after 5 years, we felt there was more that could be done beyond financial assistance to help charities in our communities. I wanted to look for ways to make an impact that would last longer than the holiday season.” So Williams put on her problem-solving business hat and rolled out 2 additional programs for 2016: ARK Serve and ARK Hire.

ARK Serve is a new benefit for RioTel employees that designates paid service days for employees to support local charities with acts of service, or what they like to call Acts of RioTel Kindness, or ARK. Michele Ramirez, RioTel’s People and Program Manager, coordinates with charities and employees for specific service opportunities, and stated, “We are building relationships with charities in our communities whose mission is to help people in crisis. We coordinate teams to assist them with whatever they need each quarter. It is a nice break to get out of the office, while helping those in need. We practice servant leadership and we are excited about how this program supports that vision.” RioTel’s first service day is scheduled for June, at a homeless shelter for women and children.

ARK Hire is a community partnership that connects philanthropic-minded small businesses with charities who are helping people in crisis, many who are in need of employment to help them through a tough transition. As Williams stated, “There are many wonderful charities helping people in crisis with counseling, food, housing, child care, and job-related skills training and assistance. My goal was simply to make the connections to the small business community in the Houston area who can provide jobs in flexible and supportive work environments to help give them a ‘hand-up’ to employment.” Williams stated that she first searched for a program like this to participate in, but when she came up empty-handed, she decided to create one, so ARK Hire was born. As an entrepreneur, she is also evaluating building specific businesses, whose focus is to fund these charities, while providing employment opportunities for those who are joining or returning to the work force after an extended absence. She hopes to see the program expand to other cities after learning from the Houston pilot program.

For more information on ARK Serve contact:
Michele Ramirez,
People and Program Manager
RioTel
281-485-8666 ext. 113
michele.ramirez@riotel.co
http://www.riotel.co

For more information on ARK Hire contact:
Karin Williams,
President and CEO
RioTel
281-485-8666 ext. 103
karin.williams@riotel.co
http://www.riotel.co

 

Acts of RioTel Kindness 2013 – Individual Giving Program “Pay It Forward”

RioTel Employees Help Others in Need through A.R.K. Individual Giving Program

Houston, Texas, December 30, 2013:   RioTel helped the holidays shine brighter for others less fortunate through their Acts of RioTel Kindness (A.R.K.) program.  Initially launched during the holiday season of 2011, RioTel’s annual A.R.K. program includes two types of giving, individual and group.  The individual giving program provides a cash donation to RioTel employees and contractors with a “pay it forward” message so they can bless others with their gift.  The group giving program involves a gift to a company selected family, group, or organization in need.

The individual giving program was kicked off at the company’s Christmas party held at the Asian City Restaurant in Humble on December 6, 2013.  RioTel’s President, Karin Williams, expressed her appreciation to employees for all of their hard work during the year and restated the company’s mission and the spirit behind the A.R.K. program:  to share the company’s success with others less fortunate.   Williams handed out cash bonuses with instructions to “Pay it Forward” to someone in need.

Since the party, employees have posted their stories on the company’s blog about where their gifts went.  Williams shared, “The stories are really touching and always reinforce why I love this program.”  According to the blog, two employees had family or friends who lost their homes in fires and their A.R.K. contributions went to help them recover.  Other employees helped families around them with large medical expenses, while others had charities or churches that were important to them that they blessed.  Williams stated, “Our employees have such big hearts.”

ARK Image

 

For more information contact:
Michele Ramirez
RioTel
281-485-8666, ext. 113
michele.ramirez@riotel.co
www.RioTel.co

Acts of RioTel Kindness 2013 – Group Donation to KSBJ’s Annual Giving Tree

RioTel Assists Local Family in Time for Christmas

Houston, Texas, December 30, 2013:   RioTel helped the holidays shine brighter for a family in need through their Acts of RioTel Kindness (A.R.K.) program.  Initially launched during the holiday season of 2011, RioTel’s annual A.R.K. program includes two types of giving, individual and group.  The individual giving program provides a cash donation to RioTel employees and contractors with a “pay it forward” message so they can bless others with their gift.  The group giving program involves a gift to a company selected family, group, or organization in need.

The A.R.K. group program helped a local Houston area family, through RioTel’s participation in KSBJ’s Annual Giving Tree Program.  RioTel employees selected a family in need identified by the Humble Area Assistance Ministries, (HAAM), whose offices are located just a few miles from the new RioTel office location.  According to RioTel President Karin Williams; “This year, we moved the company headquarters to Houston, and it seemed fitting that we should help our new neighbors, so a HAAM-identified family in need was a great choice.”

After selecting the charity, Williams decided to delegate most of the program details to other company leaders to execute the spirit of the program.  In fitting fashion, Williams selected Michele Ramirez, Manager of Quality and Project Administration, to lead the effort to plan and execute this year’s program.  Sherard Tate, Director of Technical Services, designed a new logo for the A.R.K. campaign, and delivered the gifts.

Williams stated, “I was delighted with the way they turned this into a fun holiday project where everyone had a hand in it.”  Ramirez divided employees into 3 teams: Kringle, Rudolph, and Holiday Cheer, led by 3 of the company’s newest employees.  According to Ramirez, “I thought allowing our new employees to lead and organize the giving would help them feel more a part of the company and our culture.”  The holiday teams selected a family in need, purchased a bike for one of the children, a gift card for clothing from Kohl’s, and a general VISA gift card to help this family.

After teams selected the family and purchased the gifts, Sherard Tate stepped in to deliver the gifts to HAAM.  Although he didn’t drive a sleigh over, he remarked, “It was like Santa’s workshop… People were packing up groceries and gifts for delivery.  The HAAM staff members were so appreciative!”

BIKE HAAM Group

 

For more information contact:
Michele Ramirez
Manager, Quality and Project Administration
RioTel
281-485-8666, ext. 113
michele.ramirez@riotel.co
www.RioTel.co

Acts of RioTel Kindness 2013 – Bookmarks for Central Elementary

RioTel Sends Hundreds of Bookmarks to Children in Jackson, NC

Houston, Texas, December 19, 2013:   RioTel helped the holidays shine brighter for the children at Central Elementary in Jackson, NC through their Acts of RioTel Kindness (A.R.K.) program.  Initially launched during the holiday season of 2011, RioTel’s annual A.R.K. program includes two types of giving; individual and group.  Central Elementary was the recipient of RioTel’s 2012 A.R.K. group gift, and books were sent to a classroom of First Graders learning to read.  The children responded with hand-made thank you cards that RioTel posted around the office last year.  According to Karin Williams, RioTel President, “I learned about this school and their needs through my daughter, Kaylie Williams, who began teaching at the school last year.”  After graduating from the University of Texas at Austin in 2012, the younger Williams joined Teach for America where she was placed in Eastern North Carolina to teach first grade at Central Elementary.

Although RioTel selected a local charity for their 2013 group donation, they decided to remember the children of Central Elementary again by sending them custom-designed bookmarks to further encourage their reading journey.  Williams remarked, “Teach for America’s mission has become near and dear to my heart as I’ve learned so much about their initiative through my daughter’s work.  They work to ensure that kids growing up in poverty get an excellent education.  This school year, Kaylie moved from the classroom to become a Reading Recovery Specialist for the school, so the bookmarks seemed to be a fitting tribute to her work and mission.  We enjoyed designing these around the Dr. Seuss reading theme that Kaylie references in the classroom frequently.”  RioTel also shared the bookmarks with employees who have reading-age children and relatives.

Bookmarks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For more information contact:
Karin Williams
President
RioTel
281-485-8666, ext. 103
karin.williams@riotel.co
www.RioTel.co