During the holidays, we make time to reflect on the year, give thanks and spend time with family and friends. The holidays are also a time where many give back to the less fortunate or causes near and dear to our hearts. This holiday season, many of Intertek’s U.S. and Canada offices participated in Intertek’s Season of Giving Challenge: Community Give Back. For our 2021 Season of Giving initiative, each site was challenged to give back to their community by participating in a local charity drive or event, because helping the communities where we live and work offers each of us the opportunity to connect with others and make our communities stronger.

The response to this challenge was overwhelming, with offices from coast to coast giving back to local families, children, seniors and animals in need by partnering with organizations like Toys for Tots, the Salvation Army, the Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation, local senior centers and animal shelters, and community organizations serving at-risk populations like the homeless and victims of domestic violence.

While all of the stories really captured the Season of Giving spirit, a few stood out that we’d like to share:

Colleagues from Our Westlake and Deer Park (Texas) locations partnered with the Houston Police Department to make Christmas possible for students at a low-income school by donating nearly 400 toys they collected through office toy drives. The school works with various community partners, like the Houston Police Department, every Christmas to collect donations for students in need, and had already distributed all of the donations they received this year before the Intertek team stepped up. “Teachers were hearing from some parents that they could not afford to buy gifts for their kids this year,” said Ana Mendez, Westlake office manager. “We’re grateful that our colleagues were able to give back and create some Christmas magic for these kids.”

Angie Mathisen“We host a ‘Santa Day’ where we invite the town to take pictures with Santa and Mrs. Claus in exchange for a non-perishable food item,” Angie explained. “We also place a collection box outside where visitors can donate as well. This year we were able to donate 14 barrels of food to the Food Bank of Contra Costa and Solano.”

, an administrative assistant in our Caleb Brett Benicia, Calif., office, shared that for the past 12 years, she and her husband have gone all out decorating their house for Christmas, attracting visitors from all over their area. While they decorate out of their love of the holiday and spirit of the season, they realized it could be an opportunity to give back to the community as well.

Great work to all the teams who participated in the Season of Giving Challenge: Community Give Back as part of our Intertek Kindness program and our Build Back Ever Better movement. Many offices and colleagues participate in giving back all year long, proving that together, we can make an incredible difference in our communities!

Here are more of the inspiring stories from our teams and individual employees.