Candoris Founder on Nate Kirby Day and Giving Back to the Community
Candoris Marketing & Content Strategist Laura Pugliano sits down with Candoris Founder & Chief Accountability Officer Stephan Van Der Ploog to learn about the team’s annual day of service – Nate Kirby Day, Candoris mission and values, and how Candoris volunteering and mission is part of a larger picture of companies giving back.
Stephan:
From day one, Candoris was created with one question in mind: how can we do what we’re good at professionally (technology) and turn that into an opportunity to give out of our abundance? We believe when you focus on the employee as a whole – and part of that is providing them opportunities to make an impact beyond themselves – you get a better employee, company culture, customer experience, and company result. Good business and the way you treat employees go hand in hand, and we felt that, too often, businesses were focused on one metric: profit. Uniting a team around a common goal of servant leadership and delivering solutions of lasting value offers limitless potential.
“I believe that we were created with something in our hearts that gives us joy in serving; people get a sense of fulfillment helping someone else.”
Joining the Pledge 1% movement earlier this year further underscored our commitment to being intentional about impacting our community through the giving of our profit and time. Pledge 1% is an effort spearheaded by Salesforce, Atlassian, and Rally to accelerate their shared vision around integrating philanthropy into business around the world. The very heartbeat of Candoris is giving, and our team was thrilled to join this movement.
Nate Kirby Day
Central to Candoris volunteering is Nate Kirby Day, and we hosted our fifth annual one this year. Nate Kirby was a beloved Candoris team member in the early years of the company’s existence. He had heart issues, and one night he suddenly passed away, leaving behind his wife and family. Nate was always passionate about finding opportunities to serve, and we created Nate Kirby Day to honor him and get involved as a team with organizations that serve the local community. We believe in servant leadership and we value the community, and it’s always been a fruitful time of fellowship.
