A Drive to Give Back

As 2023 came to a close, Innovatemap organized an internal donation drive to support Wheeler Mission, a respected social services organization serving Indianapolis and the surrounding area. 

Innovatemap collectively donated the following items:

• 30 Cans of Food
• 15 Blankets
• 12 Pairs of Gloves
• 3 Boxes of Men’s, Women’s and Children’s Clothes

Why? Giving is an essential component of one of our core pillars: community. 

Giving takes on many forms at Innovatemap, often by giving our time and talent. Every day we give our best work to our partners to achieve the product visions they believe in. Beyond engagements, we often partner with local organizations like Nextech to share our product expertise. 

But at Innovatemap, living out our core value of community also means extending our time, talents and treasure beyond sharing our digital product expertise.

To truly be good to the town, we have to support the needs of those who are a part of it.

Innovatemap team members are intrinsically motivated with a heart to serve others and give back to the community — it’s why we do what we do. The Innovatemap Community Team strives to find a way to connect the two. Katie Lukes, VP, Product Strategy & Research, shares: “Having a mutual goal to work toward that helps others is great for team building and creating a sense of being part of the greater community.”

To really connect with our community, we decided to host an internal donation drive to benefit families in need during the Holiday season.

We found ourselves surrounded by so many deserving organizations. It was important for us to choose thoughtfully, so we developed criteria to ensure our donation drive was both impactful and accessible. 

Criteria included:

• Collected items across multiple categories.
• Accepted new and gently-used items.
• Served a diverse population.
• Aligned with our core values.

Based on those criteria, Wheeler Mission fit the bill. 

“While there are so many deserving organizations doing phenomenal work in the community, we identified Wheeler Mission as our partner for the Donation Drive because of the services they provide to such a large group of individuals,” shares Chelsea Douglass, Senior Marketing Manager. “With Wheeler, we could collect items for men, women and children.“

Not only would the donated items serve a larger audience, but Wheeler’s item list also covered a lot of ground, making donating more accessible for our team. They accept both new and gently used items across several areas of need, rather than concentrating on a single category. This allowed Innovatemap team members to donate what they already had, from unopened food to gently used clothing, rather than feeling the pressure to participate by buying something new. 

We’re thankful to have had the opportunity to serve our community through Wheeler Mission. It’s heartwarming to see the direct impact of our efforts, bringing smiles and providing comfort to those in need in our own neighborhood. 

Our Community Team is dedicated to organizing community-driven events and equipping our team to give back in a variety of ways throughout the year. We’re excited to create new partnerships with local organizations this year, deepening our commitment to nurturing and giving back to our community. 

Because after all, being good to the town means being good to its people. 

For more information about Innovatemap’s community initiatives or how to get involved, reach out to Chelsea Douglass.