Company donates $10K to Foster Youth REACH Program

September 14, 2020 - 09:50 AM

The promotional items company Doing Good Works has donated $10,000 to Mt. SAC’s REACH program, which helps foster youth and former foster youth get through college and attain higher degrees. They made the donation through the Mt. SAC Foundation.

“This is our largest check to date to a college,” said James Padian, Director of Education Programs for Doing Good Works. The company is what is known as a “public benefits corporation” whereby 10% of its profits fund foster youth programs and 30% of the employees they hire come from the foster community. They also let their employees spend 20% of their company hours volunteering, according to Padian.

“When I heard we got the donation, I was hoping it would be $500 , because even that would do a lot of good right now,” said Jeze Lopez, Program director for REACH. “When I heard it was for $10,000, I nearly fell out of my chair.”

 

Doing Good Works sells promotional items to many businesses, including colleges. Mt. SAC used the company for its Commencement gift packages this year, as well as the Promise Plus backpacks given out last school year.

 

The company started its Direct Donations program about 18 months ago, where it began targeting college foster youth programs for donations. They previously gave $3,100 to Orange Coast College, but the donation to REACH triples that.

“We were originally looking to do a scholarship with this money,” said Padian, “but after we heard about REACH, it became obvious we had to help this program.”

REACH is located in the Equity Center on campus. Earlier this year, a video was produced to explain the program and how it has impacted the lives of foster youth who attend Mt. SAC.

It has been a delight working with Mt. SAC,” said Padian, “and we are beyond thrilled to be able to donate to the REACH program that needs the additional support to help their students."

Doing Good Works does not put any restrictions on the use of the funds, according to Padian. Lopez says he thinks the college will probably use the funds on self-care packages for the REACH students and other things to inspire them to stay motivated in school.

 “Our students are so worried about just surviving right now, they don’t have time to worry about themselves: their own happiness,” said Lopez. “It is really very important for them to keep their spirits up during the pandemic so they don’t put off their learning.”

“We are so glad we can help,” said Padian. “Especially at this time.”

Inc. Magazine ranked Doing Good Works as one of the country's top 5000 Fastest Growing Private Companies of 2019.