Leading With Purpose

 

When I first started with Avionté, I immediately began to use my AHF hours I had available. I loved that Avionté encouraged us to give back AND gave us the time to use to do just that. I wanted to take full advantage of those hours. I got involved in everything I could—blood drives, Toys for Tots, school supply drives, and even fun events like the chili cookoffs (which was used as a drive for a local food shelf).

 

I soon realized how powerful it felt to make a difference, even if it’s just by donating one hour of your time. That one hour can truly impact someone’s life, and that feeling stuck with me.  When the person who had been running AHF left, I didn’t hesitate to step in and take over the program. It felt natural because giving back through AHF had already become something I was so passionate about. Being able to help connect others with ways to serve and support our community has been one of the most meaningful parts of my role at Avionté.

 

What is the importance of AHF to Avionté's culture?

Charitable work is such an important part of who Avionté is, because it brings our values to life. It’s not just about giving money or checking a box—it’s about connecting employees and Avionté as a whole into our communities and it show that we believe in supporting the people around us. With AHF, we’re reminded that what we do with our AHF hours. we truly make a difference.  

 

When we have group AHF volunteer events, it helps build teamwork, compassion, and pride in working at Avionté. It helps us see beyond our daily tasks and realize the real impact we can have. Whether it’s donating supplies, volunteering time, or supporting local causes, it shows that Avionté genuinely cares—not only about our clients and employees, but also about our communities.

 

Being able to provide food donations to areas in need, to donating school supplies (including the TI-85 calculators that some students cannot afford) to cash donations during tragic events such as wildfires, flooding, etc.

 

It’s inspiring to work for a company that encourages us to give back and supports us in doing so. That sense of purpose and kindness really defines what makes Avionté special.

 

 

Bringing people together to make a difference. It’s amazing to see how even small acts of kindness—an hour of your time,  supplies, or even helping prepare a meal—can create a ripple effect. AHF gives every employee the opportunity to step outside their day-to-day work and do something meaningful that helps others.

 

It’s not just about the donations or the volunteer hours we give—it’s about the personal connections we build along the way. We've see coworkers come together with school supplies, delivering holiday gifts, or volunteer at local shelters, and these moments remind us what being part of a community really means.

 

Through AHF, we’ve been able to support countless organizations, families, and other and that’s something I’m incredibly proud to be a part of. The biggest impact is the hope and compassion it spreads—both within Avionté and throughout the communities we serve.

 

The most exciting part of AHF donations was when we were getting ready to move to the new Bloomington office.  We needed to get rid of the office furniture and the bid we had was rather large. I asked Rishabh and Matt if I could try to sell the items on Facebook and then donate the money to various charities.  I recall Rishabh basically laughing at me because if you worked in the old office, you know what condition the items were in.  

Every week, I would provide an update of what I had sold and the amount of money I raised for the items.  I sold everything from the old cubicles to broken desk chairs to the grossest pizza oven I have ever seen. Rishabh made a comment when the leadership team was brought into the office about being careful that if you got up out of your seat, I would sell the chair they were using.  

 

We raised $7,500 and made donations to over 20 different charities!  And we didn't have to pay to dispose of the items.