Seven months ago, I walked into my host company Mango Languages with an open mind, few expectations, and ideas. A lot of them. Some were good, some were great, and many were mediocre at best. Lucky for me, new ideas are welcome at Mango. Whether your ideas are good or great (less so for the mediocre ones), as a Mango you are encouraged to take initiative and embrace your entrepreneurial spirit. Lucky for me (again), when the idea came to me to increase Mango’s philanthropic efforts, I was told to go for it.
Seven months later, we’ve donated 1 shelf, 1 table, 3 Kindle Fires with preloaded Mango software, 5 filing cabinets, 13 office chairs, 51 chairs, 65 water bottles, 383 tote bags, $400, 507 pounds of food, 1,818 t-shirts, 2,733 pens, and 11,299 pencils. Our donations have gone to support several incredible non-profits in the metro Detroit region, many of which I was introduced to through the Challenge Detroit network: Freedom House, Coalition on Temporary Shelter, Gleaners Food Bank, Michigan Urban Farming Initiative, Youth Energy Squad, Alternatives for Girls, Detroit Achievement Academy and Detroit Public Schools. Pretty impressive stats for a 65-person team!
Recognizing our potential for impact, I wanted to take my idea a step further. Having increased our philanthropy exponentially through donations, I now shifted my efforts to engaging my coworkers through hands-on service. On April 29th, my ideas came to fruition (pun intended) as we launched our first ever Mango Community Day!
The sun shone as we kicked off our day volunteering at Gleaners Food Bank, sorting and distributing food donations in the warehouse. Each year, Gleaners provides over 34 million pounds of emergency food to 500+ partner soup kitchens, shelters and pantries in Southeastern Michigan.
Mangos launch the day sorting food at Gleaners
Marco hauling cereal
Next, we headed downtown for a delicious catered lunch at Colors, a restaurant with great local food and an even greater social mission – training returning and unemployed Detroiters with restaurant skills. Mangos were raving about the home-cooked vegetarian lasagna for days afterwards!
Downtown Detroit from atop a parking deck
About to dig in at Colors
Following lunch, we were privileged to get a tour of the historic Carr Center (occupying the upper floors of the building Colors is housed in) by executive director Oliver Ragsdale. The Carr Center is an art gallery, performance venue and community space focused on celebrating African American art and culture. Oliver shared stories of the Carr Center’s illustrious past, told us about its current uses and community initiatives, and even took us to the third floor where we got to see its breathtaking theater built in 1895!
The Carr Center is the only theater in Detroit that has windows!
Mangos at the Carr Center
After our tour, we headed over to the Michigan Urban Farming Initiative (MUFI) for an afternoon of gardening activity. MUFI seeks to empower communities through urban agriculture, as a platform to promote education, sustainability and community. Based in Detroit’s North End, they focus on grassroots projects and are 100% powered by volunteers (click here to learn about their current projects). At MUFI, Mangos helped out with sorting seeds, weeding, and hauling equipment.
Works in progress at MUFI
Beautiful mint growing at MUFI
Mangos sorting seeds in MUFI’s hoop house
All in all, we Mangos had an excellent day engaging with the community. Throughout the day, I was filled with gratitude for the opportunity to connect 1) my positive, open-minded coworkers with 2) mission-driven community initiatives in 3) the beautiful city I am proud to live in: Detroit. I am so lucky to work at a host company that supports my ideas and encourages me to take action. Thanks to Mango, what originated as a mere thought ended up blossoming into a fruitful initiative, that I hope will continue far into the future. Here’s to many more Mango Community Days to come!