As Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, we wanted to share the love here at Idea Hall. We’re so grateful to partner with organizations that align with our vision of being Champions of All Things Good and we wanted to give a few organizations the opportunity to highlight nonprofit partners they love working with.
We asked our partners, R.D. Olson, AO Architects, and Cityview three questions about the nonprofits they partner with:
1. What non-profit do you partner with and why was that organization chosen?
Bill Wilhelm, President at R.D. Olson:
“Olive Crest has been a partner of R.D. Olson dating back to 2000 when I first represented R.D. Olson in partnering with Olive Crest to build a few homes and community centers in the Hemet area. R.D. Olson shifted gears about 5 years ago from being engaged with several nonprofits to focusing most of our efforts on Olive Crest and their mission. The initiative behind selecting Olive Crest was driven by the need to make a difference in the communities that we build as it relates to getting kids off the street and looking for ways to strengthen family.”
Vickie Oshima, VP of Marketing at AO:
“AO is celebrating a nine-year partnership with The Friendly Center, a local nonprofit that has been providing stability, opportunity, and hope to children and families in poverty for almost a century in Orange County. Both AO and The Friendly Center were founded in the city of Orange and are located just a few blocks from one another, and as AO began to look for ways to support our local community, The Friendly Center was a natural fit.
Another nonprofit that we support is Canstruction, a global organization that believes that one can of food can be a catalyst for change. Canstruction hosts an annual competition for architects and engineers, combining the fun of a design-build competition with an ingenious way to fight hunger. AO has participated for several years by designing and building phenomenal structures almost entirely out of canned and non-perishable foods.”
Jade Terry, Senior Communications Manager at Cityview:
“Cityview teams up with its residents to engage with and give back to the community through organizations such as K9 for Warriors, Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Rebekkah Children’s Services and Toys for Tots. One of Cityview’s longest standing nonprofit partners is LA Conservation Corps, which provides at-risk young adults with opportunities for success through job skills training, education and work experience. CEO Sean Burton and his wife Theresa are longtime supporters of LA Conservation Corps and in 2019, Sean was named the organization’s Corps Champion.”
2. How does your company engage with the non-profit? Events? Fundraising? Do you have a favorite story or memory?
R.D. Olson:
“The R.D. Olson family comes together throughout the year looking for ways to make the kids and families of Olive Crest’s lives a little more rewarding. We do a back-to-school drive where we provide R.D. Olson backpacks with school supplies. We provide holiday gifts including Easter baskets and are always there for Olive Crest to meet whatever needs that arise. Three years ago, we changed our annual golf tournament’s purpose to raising awareness for Olive Crest and reaching out to the business community for donations. We raise approximately $70K each year. About 5 years ago, we took on a renovation project for Olive Crest. The R.D. Olson construction team and our subcontractor community renovated a home to meet current needs.”
AO:
“We began hosting our annual AO food drive benefiting the Friendly Center in 2014. The event took on a life of its own. For weeks we had cans and donations stored in conference rooms, under desks, and nearly every nook and cranny of the office! Every surface was covered with items. We even made a trophy out of cans for the winning team! The entire AO staff came together to clear out the cans, forming a “bucket brigade” line to pass cans from the office into various trucks and vans outside. In total, AO has collected more than 45,000 food items for the Friendly Center. In 2019, we began a new program to fund holiday food pantry boxes, providing a week’s worth of groceries for local families. We solicited our team for help and they showed up in a big way, internally raising more than $16,000 that first year. Since then, we have kept up the tradition and continue to support the Friendly Center program raising more than $50,000 over the past four years.
AO also celebrated our 4th year participating in the 15th Annual Canstruction OC competition which took place in August 2022 at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. We were inspired to do our jurassic part and take a bite out of hunger by constructing a ten-foot-tall structure, featuring the fierce King of Dinosaurs emerging from the iconic gates of Jurassic Park! Our team was awarded the highest honor of Best Original Design at the Can-Do Awards! Our structure is currently in the running for the international Canstruction competition, and we are excited to be recognized amongst the program’s best.”
Cityview:
“Cityview contributes to the LA Conservation Corps in a variety of ways, including its recently launched “Give a Star, Plant a Tree” program. For every star a property is given in an online rating, one tree is planted on behalf of Cityview. To date, nearly 1,000 trees have been planted through the program.
Every quarter, a philanthropic event is hosted at various Cityview properties that brings staff and residents together for a common cause. Whether through resident donation drives or corporate contributions, the firm is committed to supporting local causes in the communities where it builds and engaging with the community to bring awareness to a variety of causes.”
3. How does your chosen nonprofit align with your companies’ purpose?
R.D. Olson:
“Alignment between Olive Crest and R.D. Olson couldn’t match any better. The purpose for both organizations remains focused on family and community while strengthening personal purpose.”
AO:
“At AO, not only do we enjoy contributing to these amazing nonprofit organizations and programs, but we truly appreciate the camaraderie and team-building that results from lending our collective helping hands. That is where we align with The Friendly Center and Canstruction; this shared idea of coming together for a greater purpose and having fun along the way defines how we do business, and we hope that continues well into the future.”
Cityview:
“The LA Conservation Corps’ emphasis on conservation and service projects that benefit the community aligns with Cityview’s focus on sustainable and responsible development.”
Idea Hall & Nonprofit Partners
Idea Hall loves working with and for nonprofit organizations. Since 2017, Idea Hall has completed 2,924 hours of skills-based or pro-bono work. Recently, the Fullerton School District approached Idea Hall about making a logo for their initiative “The Tiny Home Project.” The Idea Hall team worked in partnership with the district and produced the logo above. We’re excited for their mission to continue growing and we hope their new logo serves them well.
Idea Hall prides itself on being a leader in purpose driven marketing. If your organization is looking for ways to communicate its purpose, use this link to meet with the Idea Hall team: https://calendly.com/rebecca-ideahall
