What have you ever done in the community as a volunteer? What have you ever done in your life that someone didn’t ask you to do or tell you to do?

For an eager and driven young man in his early thirties, these two questions would forever alter his perspective on community service and its role in his life.

As one of the founders of Maple Creative – a results-driven
marketing firm in Charleston, West Virginia - Skip Lineberg realized early that community service was something lacking in his personal and professional life.

“Early in my career, I was asked about my involvement in community service,” he said. “At that point, I realized how little I’d done and it
sort of flipped the switch, so to speak. I became involved with the United Way and it just snowballed from there.” 

Since then, Lineberg has made community service an integral part
of his personal life and when Maple Creative was founded in 2001, the concept of “giving back” became part of his company’s culture
as well.

“I am glad that my partners share in this spirit of community service. When we founded the company, we quickly saw that it was something we all shared as a core value,” Lineberg said. “We wanted Maple Creative to be known not only for our good work, but also for doing good things in our community.”

And part of the company culture it is.

A 100% Commitment

All of Maple Creative’s 14 full time employees dedicate time each month to a service project of their choosing. The company gives its employees two hours of paid time off each month to volunteer at the organization of their choice. Collectively, Maple’s employees serve at least 500 hours each year.

Each January employees complete an accountability form, stating their commitment to serving for their specified organization throughout the year. When employees serve, they log their volunteer hours in the company’s accounting system and share their experiences with the company at regular meetings. And it doesn’t stop there. Community service has also become part of employees’ annual performance reviews and accounts for ten percent of their overall score.

“We think it’s really important for individuals to select a project themselves,” Lineberg said. “Community service that has impact has to be driven by individual passion and heart. It is not something that can be mandated.”

Individual projects vary in range. Some of the organizations chosen by employees include the Huntington Film Commission, Kanawha State Forest, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, and the Thomas Memorial Hospital Foundation.

Each year, in addition to employees’ individual volunteer projects, Maple Creative picks a “team project,” which Lineberg admits becomes a lively debate.

“We pick a big project that’s more than one person could accomplish,” he said. “This could be planning an event, designing a marketing campaign or something like that involving team effort. We really hash it out as far as picking one project.”

In the past, Maple Creative’s team projects have included the Susan G. Komen Foundation, Special Olympics, the Kanawha Valley Public Library and the American Red Cross. 

As far as future initiatives, Lineberg sees the volunteer program becoming bigger and better. Maple Creative’s employees will be challenged to name the program, give it a special logo and design a t-shirt. The company also has plans to better document the work that’s done in the community through photos and personal stories.

Volunteerism with a Business Edge

Studies have shown the benefits of volunteerism are limitless for both a company and its employees. Researchers have come to realize professional and personal development go hand-in-hand. When employees enjoy and have a passion for the projects they do, job performance is enhanced and employees become more satisfied in both their personal and professional lives. In the case of Maple Creative - a creative enterprise in itself - volunteerism has nurtured employees’ creative vision.

“I think it inspires our people because it gets them outside these four walls and out in the world,” Lineberg said. “The more sources of inspiration and the more encounters a person has with unfamiliar circumstances, the more it shakes that person’s creative brain awake.” 

Lineberg also believes volunteerism gives his employees an edge when looking to expand their personal and professional lives.

“Let’s say they get to that fateful juncture in a meeting someday, when they might be asked what they’ve done for their community,” Lineberg postulated. “If they have worked at Maple Creative, they will never come up empty on their answer,” he said.

And, volunteerism is just plain fun for Maple Creative’s employees. “Many volunteer projects the employees help coordinate involve tasks they already love doing, such as event planning and promotion,” Lineberg explained.

The West Virginia Business Volunteer Council

Lineberg attributes his company’s involvement in the West Virginia Business Volunteer Council (BVC) as a primary key to the employee volunteer program’s success. Naming the program and developing a t-shirt for the program were just a few of the ideas Lineberg picked up from participation in BVC webinars and teleconferences.  

“If a company is not already inclined to encourage employee volunteerism, I think the BVC is the perfect tool to use to get started,” he said. “People learn by peers. The BVC offers tools where people can hear the real stories from their peers about why they have employee volunteer programs and their impact.”

Lineberg also credits the BVC with helping fulfill one of the company’s objectives – being known for community involvement. Since becoming a member of the BVC, Maple Creative has been introduced to a variety of audiences through BVC initiatives. At last year’s annual state conference on volunteerism, Maple’s employees were able to demonstrate their expertise in the area of marketing through workshops that helped statewide organizations improve their communications skills. 

In a Nutshell

When asked to summarize why the company has an employee volunteer program, the answer for Maple Creative is simple.

“I believe community service comes back ten-fold,” Lineberg said. “It’s going to motivate employees. It’s going to bring goodwill to the company. It’s going to have a tremendous networking effect. And, it’s the Golden Rule.”