After many months apart, we were finally able to have an awesome all-hands meeting this Fall. The entire Simpli team came together to brainstorm, strategize, reflect and celebrate.
As a send-off, our CEO, Tina Urquhart, offered us a challenge.
She gave each of us a $10 bill and challenged us to be a 'daymaker'.
"I started this company to help people. Our mission is to make lives better," said Urquhart. "We foster community and connections and strive to make people's day every day. We help create meaningful experiences and support celebrations. Our goal is to create a constant ripple of happiness and helpfulness."
Every day through our work we try to enrich lives through convenience, well-being, experiences and connections. This was another chance for us to pay-it-forward in our personal lives and see how each one of us can make a difference.
Here are a few of our daymaker stories.
The Perfect Moment
I was kind of struggling with the when, where, who. There were a few opportunities to give the $10 to a people asking for money near my local super market. But I had this feeling that someone was going to need it at a very specific moment, and that actually happened yesterday. I was waiting in line at the pharmacy at CVS and a woman and her young daughter were in front me, sorting out a purchase. I saw the woman looking through her coin purse, telling the pharmacist she needed a minute to find some more change. I peeked at the counter and she was buying lancets and a glucose meter. She told the cashier she had just spent so much on the insulin for her daughter she didn't expect to not have enough money for remaining supplies - she was $8 short.
I tapped the woman on the shoulder and told her I had a $10 bill for her. At first, she said no and that she couldn't take it and I told her I was saving this bill to help someone else. She paid the casher and then we chatted for a few minutes outside. Her daughter had just been diagnosed with diabetes and her insurance is a mess. She told me she worked 4 double shifts at her job just to pay for the insulin. They actually live not far from me, so I gave the woman my number and said if she ever needed a babysitter, I'd be happy to help. I knew I was going to have a very specific moment for the $10 bucks, and this was it!
Busiest Man in the Neighborhood
I upgraded my $10 and made it $20. I decided I wanted to make our Amazon drivers day because we receive a LOT of packages. I have a ring camera so I was able to catch it on video.
Watching his happiness has made my challenging day so much better. Sometimes in our line of work we don't see to see the happiness we are giving to others and it's easy to forget that what we do is making other's lives easier.
For the Brave ER Heroes
My cousin's fiancé is an ER tech, and she has been working a crazy schedule for the last 19 months and with no end in sight. She was in school to become a nurse but had to put her dreams on hold because of her current workload - it has been physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausting. On top of that, she is raising 3 children.
I actually know a few people that work in her ER, and I have been trying to think of a way to thank them and brighten their day. When I saw her on Sunday, I handed her a thank you card with cash inside (I added some additional money to spread the love even further) and asked that she use it to treat her team to lunch or whatever she thinks would help them right now. She told me that ER Nurses Week is coming up and she is in charge of collecting donations for gift baskets and planning events for the nurses. I was the daymaker on Sunday, but with our donation, and the donations of many others, she will be the daymaker/weekmaker for these nurses!
Talking with Tony
As soon as you assigned this task to us, I knew exactly who I wanted to give this to. There is a man named Tony who I be-friended a couple of years ago. He is homeless, diabetic and sits on a stoop in Bethesda. BUT more than that, he is extremely kind, offers great life advice and we both get a lot out of our visits when given the chance.
Tasking us to give $10 motivated me to finally make him a priority this weekend. I had collected a few things for Tony throughout these months - 3XL brand new t-shirts, the good kind of masks, hand sanitizer, etc. and I just had this pile sitting in the corner...just waiting for me to pick it up eventually. Well, I finally picked it up on Saturday and included the $10 in my little care package to him.
I ended up bringing my niece (14 yrs) and nephew (11 yrs) with me to Bethesda for brunch, hoping he would be there sitting on the stoop. I told them about your $10 and the items that were in the package. We were in a rush because my nephew had a soccer game, so we ran to where he normally sits hoping he was there...and he was. He was so grateful for the $10, the shirts, hand sanitizers and masks. I think he was even more elated that I brought others to meet him. We ended up talking for a while and we were 10 minutes late for the game, but Dane, my nephew, said it was "totally worth it". We plan on visiting him again, this time with clothes to keep him warm.
The Gift of Food
I decided to add an extra $10 and donate to the hunger food bank local donations center via mail that I received a few weeks ago. I never typically send monies via mail. It made me think of how much I value shared experiences with my friends and family during the holidays and how abundant food, drink, laughter and love there is…
I know $20 is so small but I’m hopeful my donation will spread a little joy and give the gift of food to provide nourishment and fulfillment for the holidays.
Other employees donated to their favorite charities like a local Boys and Girls Basketball league, Make-A-Wish and St. Jude Research Hospital. One paid for the person behind her at Chic-fil-a!
We offer you a challenge. How can you be a 'daymaker' this holiday season? It doesn’t have to be $10, maybe it’s helping someone carry their groceries or shoveling your neighbors driveway. Any act of kindness will go a long way.
We hope you’ll help us continue to spread happiness and helpfulness.
Are you a 'daymaker'? You can apply now or check out our careers page for more information on how you can become a #workhappy team member!