Teaming up for Hope

But for the last few weeks our halls have had some new additions – piles of toys and bags upon bags of canned goods. It’s all part of our annual holiday drive for Hopelink, a local non-profit which serves low income families, children, seniors and people with disabilities.  

Based on per capita income, Bellevue is the sixth wealthiest of 522 communities in Washington State. Sixth out of 522. But those numbers don’t matter to a parent who can’t put toys under the tree, or a family that has to decide between feeding their kids and paying the electric bill. As the holidays draw near, the economy stagnates and temperatures drop, the need hasn’t been this great in a long time.

At IV, this year we set an aggressive goal of raising $25,000 in cash, toys and food; I’m truly humbled to say we more than doubled that amount, raising a total of $51,324 as of last week. But what’s most exciting about our Hopelink drive is the individual generosity, amplified by teams working together, who are donating their own time and energy to have an impact. Sure, we all happen to work in the same place, but there’s no other motive, no other agenda. It’s just regular people trying to make a difference in the world.

Of course, at an invention company “regular people” has a different meaning; we do things a little differently here. We look for unique solutions to hard problems, and creativity is in our DNA.  So we auctioned off parking spaces. We had a foosball tournament where the winners had to pay, and a bake sale with a progressive pricing structure. We auctioned off the right to my office while I’m on vacation (though I may regret that one later). We got managers to sing and dance on conference room tables for money (I know I will regret this one later).  We used competition to incentivize donation, challenging business groups to do what they can.

Our commitment to Hopelink started with just a few grocery bags in 2008, and three years later we raised enough to affect the lives of thousands of local residents in need. At IV, we believe that invention sparks progress, and that our work inspires inventors around the world to solve problems that need solving.  This holiday season, for a few short weeks, we all saw a problem in our community that needed our support; we channeled our inventiveness, and redefined “inspiring.”  I can’t wait to see what we do together next year. 

If you want to join the cause, please head to www.hopelink.org for more information.