RICHMOND, Va—As a continuation of our previous post, we are also proud to announce another 2018 volunteer of the year: David “Dave” Crighton. Contributing 105 hours to organizations like Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, Better2Gether RVA, and Side by Side, Dave was able to “learn and gain experience to support local non-profit communities.” In his volunteer role at IT4Causes, Dave also excelled in his technical expertise, was able to provide guidance to the teams he led and was able to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
While in search of his next permanent position as a business analyst, Dave joined the volunteer staff as a SharePoint expert. Using his experience and expertise, Dave assisted these companies with migrating files shares, Active Directory and Microsoft Exchange hosted on “under-the-desk” servers to Office 365.
Approaching IT4Causes at the RVA Career Expo, Dave was excited to make the move to Office 365, but he “lacked the professional experience to land the position;” however, this lack of experience was only a small challenge for Dave. Taking advantage of the IT4Causes business model of having a bank of volunteers that are experts in various areas allowed Dave to conquer the learning curve without impacting his project timelines. Dave was also pleased with the flexibility of the volunteer role and the opportunity to engage non-profits in the Richmond area. “While 15 hours or less per month was more typical, I was able to dedicate 40 hours one month,” Dave said, “After I received a contract, I had to cut back, but I was still able to provide meaningful services and engagement to my teams.”
When we asked Dave about his impact on the Richmond community, he reiterated our mission of providing low-cost IT solutions to local non-profits: “the IT4Causes business model provides an invaluable service to small not-for-profit companies who do not have the in-house IT staff to maintain servers and infrastructure.” An integral part of our team, Dave was monumental in helping us deliver these services to our non-profit clients.
Dave has a history of volunteering on a Fire and Emergency Medical Services department, Boys Scouts, and his neighborhood association, but was surprised by his volunteer of the year award. “While I did volunteer a significant number of hours during one month while I was out of work, I didn’t feel as if I was really going above and beyond after I returned to work,” he told us. From this perspective, Dave was doing what he loved while also positively impacting the Richmond community. His modest comments show us the value of volunteerism and how what feels like a small impact becomes the foundation of great change.
With his contribution to #BetterITForABetterWorld, Dave was also able to benefit from the friendliness of the IT4Causes staff. Highlighting the ease of access to staff and volunteers as well as resources, Dave continues to value his experience with IT4Causes. Dave’s contributions allow his professional network and future employers to see that he values continuous learning and service beyond a paycheck. In addition to displaying his true passions, Dave’s volunteer role also gave him a variety of different opportunities to add to his professional experience allowing him to keep his expertise “fresh and current.”
IT4Causes once again expresses its sincerest thanks to Dave and all of the volunteers that work with us to deliver high quality IT services to our non-profit clients. We would be unable to do what we do without our volunteers! If you have an interest in information technology and would like to make an impact, please let us know!