Empowering Leaders — Beyond the Twelve Walls
Ally Klein, Senior Consultant — Chicago, IL
Technology, Community, Culture and Empowerment. I joined Twelve about 7 months ago, and learned quickly that these words are at the foundation of who we are as a company. I have heard these words spoken over and over again through internal meetings and conversations with our clients. But hearing the words being spoken and witnessing actions that bring these words to life are very different things…which is what I believe sets Twelve apart. The impact that we are making in partnership with our clients doesn’t start and stop with Anaplan implementations — it extends beyond the workday and beyond the walls of our offices, and extends in the lives of our future leaders — children!
I lead the Empowering Leaders Program at Twelve, which is one of the very first initiatives our founder put into place when the company began. The goal of the program is to provide technology resources to students in schools across the country to empower them with the tools they need to navigate the world. At Twelve we see how technology empowers leaders to think strategically and act quickly on a daily basis, and we have made it our mission to get technology resources into the hands of as many children as we can as they grow into our future leaders.
We do this by allowing our clients to select a school for Twelve to donate $1,000 to on their behalf, with the request that the funds be used to increase technology resources available to students. We have seen schools use the funds in a variety of ways, from 3D printers, tablets and touch screen computers to funding for technology-focused clubs, software licenses, Wi-Fi and computer lab equipment. To date we have donated $30,000 to 30 schools in the communities of our clients, and we are not slowing down!
Don’t get me wrong, I love my “day job”, but when I get to make phone calls to schools and principals who are unsuspecting (and sometimes hesitant about the random lady calling trying to give them donations out of the blue), it is the best part of my day, and one of my favorite things about working at Twelve. Seeing how excited our clients are to select schools, and how excited the schools are to be selected is very rewarding. Oftentimes the schools send us pictures of the students and their new technology, and seeing these pictures confirms why we’re doing what we’re doing with the Empowering Leaders Program. Schools are equipping and empowering students with technology more and more every day, and we will continue to partner with our clients to do our part to make this happen!
