MAP for Good – Charitable Causes
Here at MAP, we believe in giving back. Whether it’s our neighbor down the street that could use a hand or a child in need on the other side of the world, philanthropy is part of our DNA. Check out some of the causes that we support as we seek to make a positive impact around the globe.
Beyond the Orphanage
As an Australian airline pilot living in Hong Kong, Geoff Hucker first visited Africa and Nepal just over 10 years ago. He spent time at an orphanage and was struck by the dire circumstances the children faced. He went back a month later and found that some of the kids had passed away. That touched something in Geoff and he began flying back to visit the kids on his days off just to help out. He soon realized that the orphanages there, as institutions, were struggling to really improve the lives of the young people. That’s when Geoff figured there had to be another way. So after much research and planning, he began his own charity called Beyond the Orphanage.
Today, the non-profit helps children in developing countries who are at risk of disease, poverty, and exploitation by using a foster care/kinship model. Each child in the program is placed in a safe home with a carefully chosen guardian. The child is then cared for in a well-rounded nature by being provided with shelter, education, healthcare, clothing, counseling, and more. So far, thousands of children have already been supported by Beyond the Orphanage and their goal is to continue increasing that number by providing for one child at a time.
To learn more about Geoff’s story and Beyond the Orphanage, please watch these great videos.
How MAP got involved
In 2010, a friend was adamant about introducing us to Geoff. They shared a little bit of his story with us, and we honestly thought he sounded a little too good to be true, but we agreed to a meeting so we could find out what this guy and his charity were all about. It didn’t take us long to figure out that Geoff is the real deal and that we wanted to be a part of this amazing mission. So we re-prioritized some things and dove in head first. To this day, MAP Communications remains the primary financial sponsor of Beyond the Orphanage, and we are always eager to spend time with Geoff and see the incredible difference that his team is making.
If you’d like to learn more about Beyond the Orphanage or even get involved, please visit their website at www.beyondtheorphanage.org.
Casual for a Cause
Each week, MAP Communications has an optional casual dress day, but in order to get in on it, participants have to pay up! No, the money collected doesn’t go to funding our holiday party or loading the break room with snacks. How it works is that each month we choose a charity to donate the collected funds to, and some months we’ll switch it up and turn it into a food or toy drive! Some charities we keep in the rotation each year, some months we’ll do the same charity back-to-back if we want to raise more money, and on occasion we’ll call an audible and choose a cause that is in the national or local spotlight and could use the extra help (for example, the Flint, Michigan Water Crisis). We love this program because it not only allows us to dress casual for the day, but it also lets us support organizations close to our hearts and causes that are in need of funding in a flexible manner given our month-to-month format.
Here are a few of the causes we get casual for…
