SHARKS GIVING BACK
BluShark Digital is founded on the principle of helping businesses stand out online. As a company we make an effort to help in additional ways throughout our local community. From volunteering our time to donating to those in need our sharks look for opportunities to give back where we can.
If you are interested in partnering with BluShark Digital to give back to the community or have a suggestion for how we can help, feel free to contact us directly.
Here are a few of the latest events we have participated in around our community!
We’re offering a scholarship! We’ve seen how crucial it is to have a collaborative team through our work. Collaboration fosters a bond between individuals and implements cutting-edge innovation into our work for our clients. This led us to create the Collaborative Culture Scholarship. We love to see people working together, using one another’s skills and strengths. If you are a student who shares our love for collaboration, visit our scholarship page for more details on applying!
Our Community Development Project Manager, Lucy Pearsall, participated in the Mission 34 Annual Kickball Tournament in Charlotte, NC. Mission 34 is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental illness through awareness and give those who are struggling the courage to ask for help. It takes strength to ask for help, not weakness, which is the Mission34 motto: A New Type of Tough.
The kickball tournament is an annual fundraiser to provide high schools and universities with speakers to educate students and athletes about the signs of depression, increasing awareness for suicide prevention, and overall mental wellness.
This year for Earth Day, BluShark Digital hosted a clean-up competition to clean up the Union Market District. Our team joined together to make the world a little cleaner.
We had Sharks from the DMV and across the US go outside on Earth Day and clean up their neighborhoods. Our team collected over 160 pounds of garbage off the streets in a single hour!
We held a sustainable happy hour to celebrate our success that showcased local brands, including Atlas Brew Works and Green Hat Gin. Both Atlas Brew Works and Green Hat Gin focus on sustainability and use solar energy to help create their products.
BluShark Digital looks for a chance to give back whenever we can. Our team knew that we wanted to do something big for Giving Tuesday this year since many are still struggling with the repercussions of the global pandemic. This year we held a canned food drive to collect as many canned goods as we could for a local non-profit called Capital Area Food Bank. This organization works to ensure residents of every race, age, and religion in Washington DC have access to good and healthy food options. We are proud to say that our employees collected 130 cans and were eager to support this great cause!
Additionally, our company held a virtual fundraiser where we asked team members, friends, and family to donate a dollar amount they felt comfortable with. We made this fundraiser competitive by having our departments compete against one another. The department that donated the greatest amount had the privilege of selecting which non-profit would receive the donation. Our content team was the winning department of this competition and they selected Students Against Child Marriage! Our employees are proud to work for an organization that not only gives back, but does it in a fun way!
Our Community Outreach department used one of their annual community days as a team and volunteered at Lost Dog & Cat Rescue in Falls Church, VA. Lucy Pearsall, one of our Community Outreach Coordinators, had volunteered and fostered dogs at the shelter previously and convinced (quite easily) the whole team to do the same!
The Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation helps homeless pets find their way into loving homes through rescue and adoption. They originally started farther South in Virginia on a farm that rescued not only dogs and cats but larger farm animals as well. They have since opened the rescue shelter in Falls Church where potential pet parents can meet and adopt dogs and cats looking for their furever home.
Our team spent the day helping prep kongs for all the dogs at the kennel, playing and training dogs one-on-one, and taking a select few out for a hike at Potomac Overlook Park. While our team had a blast giving back, the dog’s smiles and engagement made it all even better!
If you are looking to adopt a pet, look no further than this amazing rescue! You can find available dogs and cats on their website. They also offer virtual, in person, and group volunteer opportunities for anyone in the DMV!
June is pride month and this year we raised money to donate to an employee’s non-profit of choice! During a company retreat, we raised money through a raffle. Tickets for the raffle were obtained through activities such as team participation, community building, and employee appreciation. After a fun day, we raised over $600 to be donated to Casa Ruby. Casa Ruby is the only LGBTQ multicultural and bilingual organization to provide social services and programs to vulnerable neighborhoods in Washington, DC.
The team at BluShark Digital partnered with Feed the Fridge, a non-profit organization, to pack meals for those struggling with food insecurity. Feed the Fridge kickstarted their efforts as a response to the pandemic. They provide family meals to the elderly who are unable to leave their homes on their own. Additionally, they install refrigerators throughout the DC metro area and pay local businesses to stock them with fresh food on a daily basis.
In an effort to help our community and take proactive action, we are offering pro-bono services to non-profits in need of SEO assistance.
Our team here at Blushark Digital helped spread the love this Valentine’s Day, as employees crafted handmade cards to be donated to Send A Smile 4 Kids (SAS4K). SAS4K is a charitable group that collects donated homemade cards to be distributed to children ages 1 to 19 that are currently in hospitals all across the United States.
Recently, Australia was hit with several wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes and killed almost one billion native animals. For the month of January 2020, the BluShark Digital team participated in a Change War to support the Australian Fire Relief. For the Change War, jars were placed in different parts of the office and assigned to teams based on department. Employees were encouraged to place change in their department’s jar; however, they could also place bills in another team’s jar, subtracting the value from that team’s earnings.
BluShark Digital created Christmas cards to help fulfill an elderly Wisconsin man’s final wishes. In early December, Gene Weittenhiller ended his prostate cancer chemotherapy to focus on spending time with family. To make his father’s last Christmas memorable, Gene’s son asked people to send his father a Christmas card.
We ended up contributing to the nearly half a million cards Weittenhiller received before passing away in January 2020. We hope the cards serve as a testament to the power of kindness.
It is often easy to get wrapped up in holidays planning travel and gifts for family and forget how fortunate we are to have family and the means to celebrate. This spring, BluShark Digital team members supplied items to stuff baskets for children ranging in ages from 3 to 18! Items included board games, craft supplies, books, flashcards, headphones, puzzles, toys, candy, and school supplies.
Madi Alger, one BluShark Digital’s Community Development Coordinators, has volunteered as a Middle School Forensics coach for the past 8 seasons. Forensics is a public speaking competition that includes events like humorous duet acting, original comedy, small group acting, and improvisation. Madi served as the head coach of the improv team, teaching students the basics of improv and acting.
This spring, BluShark Digital, LLC was proud to help bring clothing to those in need. BluShark Digital partnered with American University’s Zeta Psi Chapter for their annual “Trans-community Clothing Drive,” which helps local D.C. trans and non-binary community members find clothes that better match their identities.