Giving Back to Our Community: Charitable Contributions in 2020

2020 was a difficult year for everyone across the world. For the less fortunate in our communities, it brought new struggles and burdens onto existing ones.  

Thankfully, there are several exceptional organizations around the world which are working tirelessly to help these people. Origina feels privileged to be in a position to donate to these wonderful non-profits so that they can advance their missions. 

We’re delighted to share how we supported some of the charities in our Ireland and US communities in 2020, and how the company plans to continue supporting non-profits in 2021. 

To Move Forward, You Have to Give Back 

At the end of 2020, we pledged to donate to five charities in Ireland that our founders hold dear to their hearts. On top of various fundraising activities, we made a €4,000 donation to each of the non-profit organizations below:

• Focus Ireland: A group dedicated to preventing homelessness and assisting families, young adults or children who are at risk of becoming homeless. 
• Inner-City Helping Homeless: An outreach organization which offers practical support to the homeless by connecting with them seven nights a week, 365 days a year. 
• Peter McVerry Trust: A housing and homeless charity that strives to provide low-threshold housing and pathways out of homelessness. 
• Dublin Simon Community: A non-profit dedicated to preventing homelessness through a variety of measures. 
• Children’s Health Foundation: A charity which provides support and funding for sick children. 

Origina also donated €25,000 to the above companies earlier in the year. This brings the total donated to those five charities to over €47,000, which includes another €2,744 raised by employees.

The organizations are achieving incredible results working with the at-risk and disadvantaged communities of Ireland. We’re excited to see the progress they’ll continue to make in the coming years. 

In the United States, where we opened our new US headquarters in Dallas in 2020, we gave $10,000 to the Salvation Army of North Texas. The Salvation Army has a long history of helping the less fortunate in its community through providing charity shops, hot meals and other social services for families and children. It’s an organization that many of our US employees have a personal connection to, and we plan to expand our relationship with it and other charities in the area in 2021. 

Helping Others as a Way of Life 

Origina’s charitable contributions in 2020 weren’t limited to one-off donations. Throughout the year, employees across the company participated in a variety of fundraising activities as a fun way to support local charities. 

If you follow our company on LinkedIn then you may have seen our Christmas spirit on full (but socially distanced) display. Origina’s Christmas Jumper Day was a success, with over 40 employees in Ireland and the US donning their favorite holiday gear. As a result, our founders donated to the Temple Street Children’s Hospital. 

Origina also donated €1,000 to Aphasia Ireland, which is a charity that supports those suffering from aphasia and those surrounding them. The charity was selected by a guest speaker that spoke to our company during a town hall session, Tony Ward. Tony himself works for The Wheel, which is an organization that helps charities across Ireland. 

Our wonderful cast of employees were living in the giving spirit throughout the year too. They: 

• Ran a Christmas Craic fundraiser for Dublin Simon Community leading up to the holidays. The fundraiser was a flying success, reaching 104% of its target! 
• Donated 20 laptops to the Tech2Students program at Trinity College, helping bridge the digital divide and fight against educational exclusion.
• Donated an hour of their salary to the Irish Youth Foundation’s Generation Pandemic fund, which supports at-risk who face even more challenges due to the pandemic. The total was matched by the company and resulted in €2,142 being donated to the Irish Youth Foundation. 
• Got together for photos of parents and children to show our thanks for Temple Street Children’s Hospital. Many employees also dressed up in yellow to show their admiration for Dublin Simon Community (virtually, of course). 

We Rise by Lifting Others 

Origina is growing quickly as a company and we don’t want to forget our roots. We have employees across the world but more importantly, we’re involved in our communities across the world. 

Our leadership team has made a commitment to donate 2 percent of our net margin moving forward. We’re looking forward to support even more charities than we’ve been able to in the past as the Origina family becomes bigger and bigger throughout the years. 

We can’t wait to see what 2021 holds. We’ll be doing everything we can to support the wonderful communities we live and work in. We know that with all the motivated team members we have at Origina, we’ll be able to leave a positive mark on the world.