The first half of 2018 was a busy time filled with TUNE Cares experiences all around the world. In this newsletter, catch the highlights from TUNErs making a difference in their communities, and stories about the TUNE House and TUNE Women. Don’t forget to check out what we have in store for the second half of the year!
Community
TUNE came together as a community to celebrate Pride. During the week leading up to the big parade in Seattle, TUNE hosted a Civic Engagement speaker series focused on equal rights, and held a happy hour in the kitchen to celebrate pride with friends, family and coworkers. Check out photos and our favorite moments.
In May, the TUNE London team hosted the “Cheers and Beers Open House” at German Kraft, London’s hottest craft brewery. Rather than having a normal open house, the team wanted to add an extra touch to the evening through TUNE Cares, a philanthropic, employee-led initiative. Learn how they TUNE-ified the event and gave back to their local community.
From eliminating single use plastic items in our Seattle office to collecting (and recycling) several hundred pounds of electronics, TUNErs around the globe stepped up in honor of Earth Week to give back to our environment.
Leadership
Civic Engagement Speaker Series
Through the Civic Engagement Speaker Series, local policymakers and active citizens are invited to TUNE HQ in Seattle to present on topics of their choice and lead a discussion about each individual’s capacity to make change. Throughout the first half of 2018, TUNE welcomed the following individuals to participate in our Civic Engagement Speaker Series:
- Cyrus Habib, Lieutenant Governor
- Teresa Mosqueda, City Council Member
- Lisa Remlinger, Evergreen Forest Program Director of Washington Environmental Council
- Amy Nelson, CEO and Founder of The Riveter
- Monisha Harrell, Owner and operator of the small marketing firm, Rule Seven, Board Chair for Equal Rights Washington, and as a board member for the National LGBTQ Task Force.
During the month of May, TUNErs volunteered with ChickTech during a 3D printer workshop with high school students.
“It was awesome to watch these young women create new things, whether with a 3D printer, laser cutter or by hand. I was there to help, but in most cases, they knew better than I did!” – Phillip Ratliff, Director of Engineering
ChickTech was founded in 2012 to engage women and girls of all ages in the technology industry while working to create a better technology culture for all. ChickTech has made a direct impact on thousands of participants, including girls, women, and men. Our programs include summer camps, ChickTech: High School, Meetup groups for adults in tech, and ACT-W Conferences. And wherever possible, we partner with other organizations to expand our impact.
Industry
TUNE HOUSE
Women’s History Month: Through the Generations
On March 1st, the TUNE House called upon the Seattle tech community to gather and celebrate Women’s History Month and discuss the meaning of success throughout the generations with keynote speakers and a panel discussion. Speakers included the CEO of Moz, and a 4th-grade aspiring software engineer as the evening’s keynotes, as well as other influential panelists from The Riveter, Zillow, TUNE, University of Washington, and Microsoft who shared stories of success and challenges.
Earlier this year, we were in the midst of our second year of the TUNE House Roadshow, a program where the TUNE House scholars visit high schools around the greater Seattle area and share their journey of discovering technology to young female students. Spreading awareness and educating young females about career opportunities in technology, while encouraging them to enroll in a technology class, is what the TUNE House Roadshow sets out to do
TUNE WOMEN
Throughout the month of March, TUNE Women organized several events in honor of Women’s History month. They collected dozens of clothing items to donate to “Dress for Success,” held a lunchtime discussion on “Empowerment,” attended the University of Washington Women in Undergraduate Business Fundraiser Dinner and assisted in organizing the Raise ‘em up for REST event in the TUNE Kitchen.
Raise ‘em up for REST
TUNE hosted the annual Raise ‘Em For REST Poker tournament on International Women’s Day. Collectively between the 75 attendees including 12 TUNE employees, $12,480 was raised throughout the evening through donations, poker buy-ins and a silent auction. All proceeds from the event were donated to REST, who works to provides pathways to freedom, safety, and hope for victims of sex trafficking.
REST stands for Real Escape from the Sex Trade, and in an independent Washington State Charitable Nonprofit Organization. REST was founded in November 2009 by a small team of women with experience dealing with troubled youth and sexual abuse issues, and other members of the team with backgrounds in wraparound services and case management to develop relationships with people being commercially sexually exploited (trafficked), or otherwise engaged in the sex trade or are at risk to enter.
A note from the REST event organizers:
“By chipping in at Raise ‘em for REST, the evening raised $12,480 to bring freedom, safety, and hope to victims and survivors of trafficking. Thank you for your generous support, for coming to the table to play poker, taking a chance on the raffle, and tasting some fabulous whiskies.“
SPOTLIGHT TUNER
“Coalition on Homeless is an organization based next door to me in San Francisco. They work to organize and advocate for solutions to poverty, housing, and human rights issues in San Francisco
They also run a newspaper called “Street Sheet,” which is mostly written by staff and people experiencing homeless. It’s then distributed to unhoused people all over the city for free to sell and generate income. I’ve met their team at demonstrations and community meetings, and I also attended a training they hosted in their office to support survivors of sexual assault.
All of their desktop computers were much obsolete, they were sharing a MacBook between everyone in the office for presentations, and fundraising to purchase new laptops. I knew TUNE had a few laptops laying around, so I reached out internally to see if we could help them out. We were able to give them enough laptops for almost everyone in the office! I want to thank the TUNE Cares team, TUNE COO, Cameron Stewart and TUNE IT Manager, Dave Morgan.” – Ryan Heath, Technical Program Manager
Thank you so much for helping support the Coalition on Homelessness with your generous donation of 10 MacBooks! Thanks to your contribution we will be able to continue our work and support the homeless and low-income communities in San Francisco. – Jack Rice, Development Director, Coalition on Homelessness
On behalf of TUNE and TUNE Cares, thank you, Ryan for organizing and making a difference in your community.
What’s next for TUNE Cares?
From our second annual charity boat party to November to Remember taking place later this year, be on the lookout for how TUNErs are making a difference in our communities.
Get Involved
While we’re helping mobile marketers, we’re also helping the communities in which we live and work. TUNE Cares is our community service program supporting thought leadership, education, the environment, diversity, and more. Employees are encouraged to share their passions, and a team of dedicated TUNErs helps identify opportunities to build awareness and engage with the community to support the causes that matter most to our employees.
If you have an idea and are looking to make a difference together, contact [email protected]
Author
Becky is the Senior Content Marketing Manager at TUNE. Before TUNE, she handled content strategy and marketing communications at several tech startups in the Bay Area. Becky received her bachelor's degree in English from Wake Forest University. After a decade in San Francisco and Seattle, she has returned home to Charleston, SC, where you can find her strolling through Hampton Park with her pup and enjoying the simple things between adventures with friends and family.
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