What can you accomplish in 128 hours?
You can stock shelves at a food pantry. Fill classroom libraries with books. Help shelter dogs find their next chapter. Bring a community together through music and theater. Or simply show up when a neighbor needs an extra pair of hands.
In October, Team Martus did all of that and more.
This October, we launched Martus Month of Service, giving every employee paid time to volunteer for a cause close to their heart. Our team contributed over 128 hours to organizations, neighbors, and communities across the country.
The real story isn't how many hours we gave; it's what our people chose to do with them.
Martus Month of Service is an initiative inspired by our founder and Chair Emeritus, Bill Cox, and his commitment to servant leadership.
The idea is simple: give every Martus employee eight hours of paid time to support a cause that matters to them.
For some, that meant volunteering alongside coworkers. For others, it meant putting their personal talents to work or supporting organizations close to their hearts and communities.
At Martus, we spend our workdays helping mission-driven organizations make the most of their resources. Month of Service gave us an opportunity to put that same spirit into action in our own communities.
And if this first year is any indication, we're off to a pretty wonderful start.
Our Orange County team spent a day volunteering with Families Forward in Irvine, California, an organization that helps local families facing housing insecurity. The team sorted fresh produce, stocked shelves, and packed grocery bags for families in need.
Not every act of service looks like a traditional volunteer shift. Some of the most meaningful contributions happened when people shared the skills, interests, and passions that make them who they are.
Making music more accessible. Vanessa Chambers, our VP of Product and Service, put her organizational talents and experience as a cellist to work for a community orchestra. She created a shared music library where volunteer musicians can easily find their sheet music and listening links. For musicians juggling rehearsals with full-time jobs, it's one less logistical hurdle and more time to focus on making music together.
Taking the stage for a cause. Vicki Richardson helped bring The Shadow Box by Michael Cristofer to life through a staged reading benefiting Celia's House, a local hospice facility. The cast donated their time, the event was nearly sold out, and the proceeds support an organization providing compassionate end-of-life care.
Putting books and basic needs within reach. Amber Kirkman, Director of Partner Enablement, divided her service time between the Winston-Salem Rescue Mission and delivering books to elementary school classrooms. Two very different acts of service, both rooted in helping people access the resources they need.
Giving shelter dogs a little extra love. Megan Alba volunteered with dogs in the adoption program at Free to Live, a no-kill animal sanctuary. The organization provides a safe haven for adoptable animals waiting on their forever home, as well as compassionate care for dogs and cats who cannot be placed in a family environment due to health or behavioral challenges.
Across Team Martus, other employees donated blood, provided supplies for women's shelters, and even loaded firewood for a family in need.
Every nonprofit budget tells two stories.
The first is told in dollars and cents: how much money is available, where it's allocated, and how it's being spent.
The second is about what those dollars make possible.
A budget can tell you how much an organization spends on food assistance. It can't fully capture the relief a family feels when there's enough food on the table. It can show the cost of books for a classroom, but not the excitement of a child discovering a new favorite story.
The same is true of our Month of Service. We can count the hours our team volunteered, but that number only tells part of the story.
A music library will make rehearsals easier for volunteer musicians. Books will find their way into the hands of students. Families will have groceries on the table. And somewhere, a shelter dog may find a family to call its own.
That's why we do what we do at Martus. We know that behind every nonprofit budget are real people doing important work, and we want to help them do more of it.
We're proud of the hours our team contributed this October, and even prouder of the people who gave them. Thanks to everyone who participated and to the organizations that welcomed us.
We can't wait to do it again next year.