How one man found purpose and better work-life balance when he discovered the importance of charitable giving. Here’s how we can make charity part of our work and our lives.
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A guest post by Noble McIntyre
Our guest blogger, Noble McIntyre, with his colleagues during his company’s charity food drive
Why Charitable Giving is Important
As we mature and develop our careers, the one resource we never seem to have enough of is time. As a personal injury attorney with a wife and three daughters, my days are frequently packed. Between commuting, handling clients, and attending my daughters’ various extracurricular activities, I have just enough time for my work and often just enough for my family — with very little left over.
A few years ago, I began to feel something was missing. My line of work frequently puts me in a position to help people who are injured and suffering, but taking law cases is not the same as giving selflessly to others. But with my work and family life already occupying so much of my time, how could I make more room for charitable giving? Organizing (or even attending) charity events would take time I simply didn’t have.
That’s why, three years ago, I decided to start McIntyre Law Gives Back. As a lawyer, I see people in need every day, and I saw an opportunity to give something back to the community through our workplace. Our firm is dedicated to making the world a safer, better place, and this was just another way of reflecting our values through charitable giving.
Many companies try to make charity easy for their employees by arranging for automatic payroll deductions, which is a convenient and hassle-free way for employees to contribute to charitable causes. However, I’ve found that when it comes to giving back to the community, it’s more fulfilling to speak with actions as well as dollars.
McIntrye Law Gives Back (Charity Food Drive) in Action
With that in mind, McIntyre Law Firm started with a food drive for hungry citizens in Oklahoma, and the initial experience was so rewarding that we’ve continued with other ways of helping, such as air conditioner giveaways, blood drives, and more. In November of last year, we organized our third annual Day of Kindness, in which we gave away thousands of turkeys to the hungry, so they could enjoy the kind of Thanksgiving that everyone deserves.
On a personal level, organizing charitable giving through our firm has brought a new sense of balance to my life. Not only has the experience been very humbling and rewarding by itself, but it made giving to others a part of my life again without making me feel like I was stretching myself too thin.
Organizing giving in the workplace also has its benefits for employees. Not only does it demonstrate the values that our firm holds dear, but it builds a sense of community amongst our employees, and makes employees feel good that they’re doing something to help others. It creates a sense of camaraderie in the workplace that’s unique to charitable giving — in short, employees like the feeling of having helped others, and having an organized event through the workplace makes it easy for them to get involved and participate.
As human beings, our time in this world is limited, and with work, family, and the other obligations that make up our daily lives, it can be difficult to find time to help others. But being a real part of a community, you can find a new balance in your life that you may not even have realized was missing.
6 Ways to Build Charitable Giving into Your Busy Work Life
So how can you get started with charitable giving in your workplace? Here are a few ways:
See if your workplace offers automatic payroll deductions to charitable organizations. If not, see about starting one.
Find local events for your workplace to sponsor or participate in, like food or blood drives.
Engage with your employees to see if they have any causes or needs that could justify a fundraiser or other charitable activity.
Start an office raffle, with the proceeds going to charity.
Set up a system for your company to match the funds your employees donate.
Take up a donation of needed goods from your employees and encourage them to get involved.
Every bit helps. Finding these small (and big ways) of reaching out to your community has the potential to bring a natural and rewarding balance to the time that you spend in your business and professional lives.
Thanks, Noble. We can all gain from this perspective.
How have you helped out in your community? How can we fit charity into our busy lives? Let’s discuss in the comments section.
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Noble McIntyre is the senior partner and owner of McIntyre Law, an Oklahoma City firm staffed by experienced Oklahoma personal injury lawyers. Noble lives in Oklahoma City with his wife and three daughters.