2019 Intern Class Giving Back to the Ronald McDonald House
Every summer, we hire a diverse group of interns to navigate through the various departments that make DriveTime a one-stop shop. These interns are given the opportunity to learn how a national company works in real time as they are immersed in the DriveTime culture and tasked to do impactful projects. Beyond the work, our goal is to leave these young individuals with an understanding of why it’s so important to give back to the community. In order to do so, every summer, a day is dedicated to taking the interns out of the office and to give back to their community. This summer, we brought our interns to the Ronald McDonald House where they helped bake treats, prepare goodie bags, and write handwritten cards for families. After the event, a few interns reflected on the day and the impact it had on them.
Q: What was your favorite part about volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House?
Manny: “I think being able to see the direct and instant impact that we are able to make was awesome. It was super cool to see that our efforts were helping others instantly.
Being together as an intern group and changing up the work week is also another bonus!”
Q: What was one takeaway from the experience?
Manny: “The one thing that I was thinking was that although work is important, there are truly more important things in life than all work. It is so crucial to take a step back and see and interact in the other super important parts of life like being able to be of help to others in need of extra help.”
Colleen: “Home is something that is so important to people and the Ronald McDonald house creates a home for people in a time of life that safety and security of home is limited. Whether it was 2 days, 2 months or a year, they treat every family and every story with the same compassion and love and it was very evident just stepping in for a day.”
Q: Why do you think it is important for DriveTime to continue to give back to the community?
Manny: “We don’t want to become so consumed with work to the point where we don’t recognize the so many other people around us who are in need of help. As a part of the community we have a moral responsibility to be of assistance and not just business people.”
Colleen: “As a company that is geared towards serving a community of people with a need for a basic, but very crucial, part of life, transportation, understanding the impact of giving back doesn’t only deepen the breadth of understanding of what it means to serve, but it also gives an opportunity to be helping a community that is already right in our backyard. This helps our understanding of who our customer is and also what it means to be serving without agenda.”
Q: Do you see the impact community service has had on DriveTime as a whole?
Colleen: “From mission to application, definitely. Through both serving on the job, and giving back on their own time, DriveTime is definitely a leader in helping their community.”
Courtney: “Yes. It makes people proud to work at a company that puts others first and does not solely emphasize profit. It also brings the coworkers who serve together closer.”
The day spent at the Ronald McDonald House was very rewarding as the interns were able to enjoy themselves while also giving back to their community. We believe it is essential to serve others in order to create an environment that has balance and support and we hope our interns saw this firsthand.
