CULTURE BOOK
OUR STORY We love teens. They are creative, active, wired...and frustrated that our world is so messed up. DoSomething.org harnesses that awesome energy and unleashes it on causes teens care about. Almost every week, we launch a new national campaign. The call to action is always something that has a real impact and doesn’t require money, an adult, or a car. With a goal of 5 million active members by 2015, DoSomething.org is one of the largest organizations in the US for teens and social change. Join us at www.DoSomething.org.
11 REASONS TO WORK AT DOSOMETHING.ORG
1
Staff
2
Office Space
3
Sabbatical
4
All Types of Benefits
5
We’re Popular
6
Partners and Sponsors
7
Karaoke
8
Room to Grow
9
#Failfest
10
Place to Learn
11
We <3 Teens (not in a creepy way)
#1
STAFF
We have a creative and close-knit staff. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re super passionate about what we do.
2012 STAFF ALYSHA BOLOGNO
ALYSSA RUDERMAN
APRIL WRIGHT
ARIA FINGER
BARRY CLARK
BAYLEE GREENBERG
BOB FILBIN
CALVIN STOWELL
CHAQUANA LYONS
CHLOE LEE
CHRIS JOHNSON
CHRISTINA BLACKEN
Campaigns Associate
Lead Front-End Developer
Finance & HR Manager
Campaigns Associate
Business Development
Marketing Associate
Campaigns Manager
Data Manager
Lead Drupal Developer
COO
Social Media Strategist
Campaigns Associate
DAVE DELUCA
ELLIE ZEITLIN
FARAH SHEIKH
GEORGE WEINER
GLEB BOUNDIN
GREG THOMAS
JACOB CASSIDY
JEFF BLADT
JESSICA SCHEER
JOHN KULTGEN
JONATHAN UY
Head of Campaigns
Tech Wizard
CFO
Member Engagement
Campaigns Manager
Senior Editor
Campaigns Associate
Front-End Developer
Mobile Developer
CTO
Data Analyst
KATIE RADFORD
Office Manager
2012 STAFF KENIA BAUMGARTEN
KERI GOFF
LAUREN SMITH
LIZ EDDY
MARAH LIDEY
MAXWELL WATSON
MIKE CHITTENDEN
MIKE FANTINI
MUNEER PANJWANI
NADIR HAJIYANI
NANCY LUBLIN
NAOMI HIRABAYASHI
Director of Finance
Digital Engagement Manager
Business Development
Campaigns Graphic Designer
Front-End Developer
Social Developer
Graphic Designer
Drupal Developer
CEO & Chief Old Person
Associate, Special Projects
Director of Member Engagement
CMO
RAVELLE MOHAMMED Assistant Editor
REBECCA GARCIA Drupalista
SARAH PIPER-GOLDBERG SYDNEY COHN Head of Fun
Campaigns Associate
STAFF at DISNEY WORLD FOR STAFF RETREAT, august 2012
SECRET TALENTS? CALVIN STOWELL
LIZ EDDY
I can build just about anything. I grew up making custom cabinetry.
If I can see it in front of me, I can draw it. And I can cook almost anything without a recipe!
ALYSSA RUDERMAN
JEFF BLADT
I give pretty stellar hugs; I can turn almost any item into an arts and crafts project, and my 90’s playlists might make you fall in love with me.
I brew my own beer, played on my high school bridge team, and was a member of my university’s badminton club.
ELLIE ZEITLIN
NANCY LUBLIN
Making quesadillas (but it’s not such a secret anymore).
I can change a diaper with one hand, while texting with the other.
MICHAEL CHITTENDEN
CHRIS JOHNSON
I’m a piano player.
I used to write new age music for piano/synth.
FAVORITE MEMORY? JOHN KULTGEN This is collective - I love when one staff member’s catchphrase becomes a staff-wide term. “I can’t.” “Cool, cool.” “My body is ready.” These are all personal sayings that went viral in the office.
BOB FILBIN Visiting the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios with coworkers before staff retreat. Yes, it was magical.
BARRY CLARK The DoSomething.org team sending me an awesome congratulations video after getting engaged in Europe this year.
LAUREN SMITH Creating #HOWDSISTHAT with Farah. We’re taking over the world, one .gif at a time.
JESSICA SCHEER Visiting with Violet for the first time. I felt so much love! And so did she- she was carried away by a gaggle of employees so they could oogle her.
2012 SUMMER INTERNS Throughout the year, we hire paid college interns in each of our departments who help us out a ton. Interning at DoSomething.org is a great way to learn the ins and outs of the not-for-profit world, work in a fun and young office environment, and gain great work experience. We asked the interns, “Why is DoSomething.org the best internship ever?” Here’s what they said:
BRAD WILLIAMS!
LINDSEY WILDEROTTER
Because you get to work with the most motivated, intelligent and friendly staff the world has ever seen. #OurOfficeIsBetter
Because we’re encouraged to give our opinions every day and have them mean something.
MO GODIN
LAURA HANCOCK
Because you are in an environment of people who love what they are doing and care a great deal about making change in the world.
Because our supervisors genuinely care about us and provide us with professional development opportunities.
NAOMI HOCHBERG
NONA MAKAVEEVA
Because “intern” is just a title, not a definition.
Because the only people we get coffee for is ourselves. In our awesome office. Where scootering around is socially appropriate. But mostly because it’s fun, impactful, and probably one of the few internships where I actually want to stay after work.
ELISE MORDOS Because the DS staff has mastered the ability to create a high productive and extremely fun, lively work environment. And best of all, as interns, we feel like our roles here actually matter.
COLLEEN WORMSLEY Because I get to come in every day and do what I love and work with people I love. Plus, it’s my job to get other people to spread some DoSomething.org love. So much love.
NAMI MODY Because I honestly can’t think of one reason why it’s not.
KATIE LAHEY It doesn’t feel like an internship at all. We get paid to learn in a super positive and creative environment!
2012 SUMMER INTERNS GABY KORNBLAU
JETT HOUSE
Because not a day goes by when we don’t get to enjoy a good snack, a scooter ride, and the company of the most creative, fun, and inspiring people you’ll ever meet.
Because if there were beds I would live here.
NIYETI SHAH Because you’re treated like a full time staff member, your ideas are listened to and you’re surrounded by people who truly want to make a difference. (And on Friday Felicia dressed up as Katy Perry).
TERESA ROCA Because DoSomething.org is more than just an internship. It is a place where our supervisors care about us, where we are listened to, where we are taught important skills, and where we feel like a family.
DAVID FURNES Because you’re given the same responsibilities and opportunities to contribute as a full staff member... and we have delicious bake-offs.
ANNIE LECLUYSE The activities, brown bag lunches, and outings we participate in and get to be a part of, the community that is created between the interns and staff, getting to come to work to help others do good and make a difference.
JESSENIA RIOS
Because it’s an inspiring experience in every sense of the way!!
SAMANTHA BRAIN
MONICA SON
Because I could not imagine spending my summer anywhere else. The people, the atmosphere, and the work that we have the opportunity to do is simply amazing.
Because every morning I am greeted by a magical feeling that gets me excited to do work and ask for more. Then I realize I’m surrounded by people who feel the same way. Weird.
FELICIA FITZPATRICK Because every day here is like Christmas morning as I open a gift containing Zac Efron while I eat an unlimited amount of s’mores after being crowned a Disney princess.
MICHELLE AZZI Because I’m able to work on projects I love with people I love for an organization I love. I’ve learned more in 10 weeks at DoSomething. org than I have in most of my classes.
KRYSTEN TOM Because every day is casual Friday!
GRETCHEN WARD Because... Everything.
KELLY LARGE ^^^ All of the above ^^^
#2
OFFICE SPACE We love our new digs. Our open floor plan and superhero-themed conference rooms promote collaboration and innovation.
BEST THING ABOUT THE NEW OFFICE? After eight long years in our beloved Union Square office, we realized it was time to move on to bigger and better things. Even though breaking up is hard to do, we couldn’t be happier with our new space. Only a few blocks away in the Flatiron district, there is plenty of room to house our growing staff and our year-long college and high school internship program. We now have a spacious kitchen, in-office gym, and several conference rooms (named after super heroes’ lairs).
BAYLEE GREENBERG
GLEB BOUNDIN
SO much daylight!
Having a server room instead of a server closet.
RAVELLE MOHAMMED
REBECCA GARCIA
How bright it is! The orchids and that we’re all in the same space :)
The orchids! They’re my favorite flower. I also love that we ride scooters around the office.
MAXWELL WATSON Late night scooter races with Dave DeLuca.
TOP: We roll around THE OFFICE in style. LEFT: Our disco ball gets the party started. RIGHT: Barry Clark holds the highest Ms. Pacman score - 62,220!
#3
SABBATICAL
We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want you to live in a bubble. After two years, you can take a paid, four-week sabbatical to volunteer anywhere in the world.
DOSOMETHING.ORG HQ NEW YORK, NY
WHERE WOULD YOU GO? DoSomething.org employees are eligible for a 4-week paid, volunteer sabbatical after 2 years of continuous, full-time work with the organization. Our employees use this well-deserved time for personal fulfillment and further professional experience. We know lots of other organizations do great things and we want our employees to volunteer with them, learn from them â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and most of all, come back refreshed and invigorated! We asked our staff where they want to take their sabbatical. South Africa and South East Asia were the two most popular choices.
UPCOMING KENIA BAUMGARTEN
This September I’m working with an NGO that focuses on health care and education initiatives in the slums of Mumbai.
NAOMI HIRABIYASHI
This October I’m going to north central Kenya to live with the samburu tribe. I’ll be volunteering with the Thorn Tree Project at a school in the village to help teach English and work on their girl empowerment program.
WISH LIST Afghanistan: Muneer
Japan: Nancy
Africa: George, Keri, Ravelle, Marah
Kenya: Naomi
Argentina: Gleb
South America: Baylee, Aria
Australia: Sarah
Southeast Asia: Greg, Chloe
Beirut: Jeff
South Africa: Liz, Christina, Sydney, Kenia, Barry
Cambodia: Rebecca
Thailand: Farah, Jacob, John
Egypt: Nadir
UGANDA: Lauren
Hong Kong: Calvin
Sea turtle rescue in the Atlantic: Jon
#4
ALL TYPES OF BENEFITS
We totally believe in Work Hard, Play Hard. (We offer top-notch health benefits and plenty of vacation time too)
EVENTS OFFICE WARMING PARTY
Our COO Aria Finger toasts to our sweet new space
KICKBALL In case you havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t already noticed, our summers are packed with awesome things. Perhaps the best part of a DoSomething.org summer is our weekly kickball game with other New York City organizations we love. The staff and interns unite for a friendly game of kickball dressed in our custom matching t-shirts. Win or lose, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s always a great time and we celebrate together after the game!
GROUP OUTINGS Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a quirky, close-knit family of social changers who love to spend time together outside of the office. We regularly plan fun outings that bring us closer together (if thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s even possible). This summer, some outings we had included a trip to Coney Island and a Staten Island Yankees game. We also LOVE karaoke.
SAY CHEESE STAFF RETREAT @ DISNEY WORLD
BEST FACE AWARD IS A TIE BETWEEN ALYSSA & MARAH
BAKE-OFFS Besides teens and social change, something we take very seriously at DoSomething.org is snacks. We hold bake-offs every couple of weeks to put our staffs’ baking abilities to the test. Some of our favorite bake-offs have included: pie-a-palooza, colossal cupcake challenge, pumpkin everything!, and many more. Be warned: snag ‘em before lunchtime or they’ll be gone. They’re that good.
BUST A MOVE Holidays, birthdays, or any days, no one can pass up our part-ays. Our staff is lively and hard-working, always giving us a reason to celebrate. (Willingness to dance is basically a job requirement).
School Spirit Day
SPIRIT DAYS Mmm..smells like DoSomething.org spirit! At 1:30 p.m. on Fridays, everyone gathers into our lobby and shows off their hilarious Spirit Day outfits. This summer we’ve seen hippies, Mad Men characters, superheroes, and everything in between. Our most popular Spirit Day was “College Day” where we saw 25 of our staff and interns rep their school.
Top LEFT: Decades Day Top RIGHT: Fictional Character Day Bottom Left: Superhero Day Bottom Right: Unofficial Dress in Blue Plaid Day
#5
WE’RE POPULAR
You’ll interact with experts in the not-for-profit space. We have pretty awesome friends.
TALK NERDY TO ME Here at DoSomething.org, we want to learn as much as we can from awesome people. From attending conferences to hosting our Brown Bag Lunch series in the office, we get to hear some pretty smart ideas and cool stories. Here are some of our staff’s favorite speakers.
ALYSSA RUDERMAN
CHRISTINA BLACKEN
Van Jones was pretty great. So smart. So inspiring. So dreamy.
Van Jones. Hands down the most inspirational and funny dude I’ve come across in my lifetime. Doesn’t hurt he’s nice on the eyes!
CHAQUANA LYONS
Nancyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s TED speech. Moving. Inspirational. Powerful. Just like Nancy.
MARAH LIDEY
CHLOE LEE
I am constantly amazed and wowed by the strong, bright women on the team and the talks that they give. Watching Aria, Nancy or Naomi speak is always a treat for me.
Anytime Nancy, Aria, or Naomi make a presentation or speak. Their humor, data, and enthusiasm make them the perfect reps for DS and you can be sure to be 111% engaged in what they have to say!
FARAH SHEIKH Jeff Bladt. Data Presentation. Every. Single. Week.
#6
PARTNERS AND SPONSORS
We know the cool people. AĂŠropostale, American Express, Toyota, and Bing are companies we work with, to name a few.
FAVORITE CAMPAIGNS Our national cause campaigns are pretty awesome. They allow teens to make a real, measurable impact and they never require money, a car, or an adult. Even though we love all our campaigns, we asked our staff members which campaign is their favorite and why. Give a Spit came in first place.
MIKE FANTINI
Give a Spit. It proves that small actions can go a long ways towards saving lives. I got swabbed last year in the office and was recently selected to be a back-up donor for a 54 year old with leukemia.
KATIE RADFORD
Give a Spit! Mostly because I got called to be a possible match for a donation. So excited!
ARIA FINGER
Give a Spit. Bone Marrow for Life. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve saved 10 lives, keep â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;em coming!
APRIL WRIGHT
pregnancy
TEXT
Pregnancy Text - I think it’s a fun & innovative way to create awareness around teen pregnancy & what it means to raise a baby. It’s like a modern day tamagotchi!
CHAQUANA LYONS
Looking forward to Pics for Pets rolling out. I plan to be active in going to the shelters to take pictures and help some pets get a home!
KENIA BAUMGARTEN
I am super excited for the Animal campaign. It’s going to be awesomesauce.
KERI GOFF
My favorite campaign is Thumb Wars because of all of the crazy goofy pictures that teens take with them. It also promotes safe driving!
#7
#7
KARAOKE
We celebrate accomplishments, often with late night karaoke.
We celebrate accomplishments, often with a night of karaoke.
#8
ROOM TO GROW
Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re proud mamas and papas that want you to succeed. Your position is not limited to your job description.
#9
#FAILFEST We don’t fire because of failures. We build, plan, and design things that may fail in order to form new, innovative ideas. We have a day called “FailFest” where we highlight these). Yes, you have to wear a pink boa when presenting.
#10
PLACE TO LEARN
Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re like going to business school. You learn the same skills, but WE pay YOU.
#11
WE <3 TEENS
We get teens (we constantly write SMH, HMU, and THX). We feed off of their energy, passion, and potential to make change. We even have high school interns year round that help around the office.
BEST STAT / PIECE OF DS DATA NAOMI HIRABAYASHI
SYDNEY COHN
We activated 2.4 million young people to take action around causes they care about in 2011. That’s a movement, and I can’t wait to see that movement grow even more!
During the Teens for Jeans campaign this year, we collected so many jeans that if we laid them out across the country, they would stretch from NYC to Chicago!
NADIR HAJIYANI
MUNEER PANJWANI
100,000+ people have taken the bully quiz on our facebook app.
That we saved 8 lives via our Give A Spit campaign.
ALYSHA BOLOGNO
GREG THOMAS
Within the first two weeks of Pregnancy Text, we were receiving 1 unsolicited response every 10 seconds. Woah!
93% of teens say they want to volunteer, but only 22.5% actually do. It shows the need for what we do.
GEORGE WEINER
CALVIN STOWELL
DS teens are 40x more likely to take action if they are texted versus if they are emailed.
We clothed 2 out of 3 of the homeless youth in the United States with Teens for Jeans. That’s awesome.
DAVE DELUCA
SARAH PIPER-GOLDBERG
1 to 2.3 viral loop for Pregnancy Text. And that’s JUST. THE. BEGINNING.
We are 0 for 3 in kickball. This is not my favorite piece of data, but it’s necessary -- anyone out there have long legs?
ARIA FINGER
APRIL WRIGHT
We have members in 1 in 3 high schools in the US.
Teens are 40X more likely to sign up for a campaign via mobile.
INTERNS Like our college intern program we have high school interns in our office year round. Not only do they bring even more fun energy to our office, they also help us to connect directly with our member base.
APATHY SUCKS NO, REALLY. IT DOES.
Campaigns Manager (and Jedi) April Wright fights apathetic droid, CTO George Weiner
GLOSSARY Brown Bag Lunch Series
Old people
DoSomething.org brings in awesome speakers on Tuesday afternoons during the summer.
Anyone over age 25.
PSA
Related to or having to do with a cause that we care about.
Public Service Announcement, or “ad” for a campaign. Ours usually involve a celebrity. Check out www.YouTube.com/DoSomething1 to see them first-hand.
CELEB-WRANGLING
Shake Shack
Cause-y
The process of doing outreach to, acquiring, and confirming celebrities to participate in Do Something campaigns, programs, events & initiatives.
Chief Old Person Nancy Lublin, our oldest and most chief staff member (i.e. the CEO).
Do-er Young person that takes social action in their community/on a cause or topic they care about.
DRUPAL drupal.org is an open source code platform that DoSomething.org is built on. Also known as a Content Management System (CMS). Also name of the alien in the tech corner.
Intern Scavenger Hunt The DoSomething.org staff comes up with over 150 crazy tasks for the summer interns to complete all over NYC in one day. It’s pretty intense.
Delicious, a very popular local joint where we get food for the office.
SWAG Our term for DS gear.
Toto Tuesday Toto’s Africa is our unofficial anthem. Every Tuesday at 5 p.m. we play it loud in the office. It helps us leave work at a normal time (6 p.m.) on Tuesdays and it’s a MUST for every karaoke outing.
The Penguin A stuffed penguin that is given to a staff member each week who has done a kick-ass job.
Vicktor the Vulture
The Penguin’s cousin who is given to an intern each week who has done a kick-ass job.
TOTO TUESDAY Check out www.DoSomething.org/Toto-Africa
LYRICS I hear the drums echoing tonight But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation She’s coming in 12:30 flight The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation I stopped an old man along the way, Hoping to find some old forgotten words or ancient melodies He turned to me as if to say, Hurry boy, It’s waiting there for you It’s gonna take a lot to take me away from you There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do I bless the rains down in Africa Gonna take some time to do the things we never have The wild dogs cry out in the night As they grow restless longing for some solitary company I know that I must do what’s right As sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti I seek to cure what’s deep inside, frightened of this thing that I’ve become It’s gonna take a lot to take me away from you There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do I bless the rains down in Africa Gonna take some time to do the things we never have Hurry boy, she’s waiting there for you It’s gonna take a lot to take me away from you There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do I bless the rains down in Africa, I bless the rains down in Africa I bless the rains down in Africa, I bless the rains down in Africa I bless the rains down in Africa Gonna take some time to do the things we never have
WE KNOW YOU WANT TO JOIN THE FUN. Check out DoSomething.org/jobs and DoSomething.org/internships.
CULTURE BOOK COMMITTEE
Colleen Wormsley Felicia Fitzpatrick Kelly Large Lindsey Wilderotter Michelle Azzi Nona Makaveeva
2012