A global leader in connecting people to causes that matter to them has helped an Okanagan woman merge her passions in life.
Velvet Beaumont’s philosophy of giving back collided with her love for hockey that she discovered later in life.
“It wasn’t until I arrived in the Okanagan, at 40, that I actually laced up and took my first set of lessons. It was instant love and I’ve never looked back,“ she said.
It was Benevity that then connected Beaumont to the Grindstone Award Foundation.
Benevity is an organization that essentially matches corporations with charities. This can be in the form of volunteering or donating, which in turn enhances workplace engagement. Benevity truly has created a win-win scenario for charities and corporations. It encourages companies to use their “goodness” to create more engaged employees while enabling them to make an impact in the world.
Grindstone and Benevity intertwined through how Benevity retrieves their list of non-profit and charity data. Benevity downloads a list of non-profits and charities every so often, and Grindstone happened to end up on that list when we applied for charity status.
“We are so grateful of the support we have received from Benevity. Their social mission of doing well by doing good, aligns with what our board believes in,” said Grindstone general manager Dominique DiRocco.
Meet Velvet!
Beaumont is originally from the Cariboo Region and after a 35-year stint in Calgary, she has moved back to B.C.
After receiving her BA Degree, Beaumont went back to school and earned a second degree in Engineering Design and Drafting Technology. After careers in project co-ordination and project management, Beaumont has found her way into recruiting for Benevity and absolutely loves it. On top of being extremely successful, she is very active, a multi-sport athlete and, of course, she plays hockey.
Beaumont describes her first experience with hockey as “instant love” and she continues to play.
The Company With a Social Mission
Beaumont became involved with Benevity in 2015 as a talent scout. Since then she has said that the company has grown 100 per cent year after year. In her own words, Beaumont describes Benevity as a “global leader in online workplace giving, matching, volunteering and integrated grant management solutions.”
For example, Beaumont shared a Facebook update with us that highlights the impact that Benevity makes in partnering with companies. The update states that Ameriprise Financial had over 75 per cent of their employees engaged in its workplace-giving program in the past year.
The results of this program: $15 million in donations, 77,000 volunteer hours logged, 8.8 million meals served and 192 grants awarded.
A Match Made in Hockey Heaven
Benevity makes a real difference to non-profits around the world. The best part is that it involves getting companies to help out and volunteer and create that “goodness” that Benevity strives for.
At Grindstone, Benevity makes a big difference… and how lucky are we that Velvet Beaumont loves and plays hockey!
“Any opportunity to help young ambitious athletes achieve their goals warms my heart,” shares Beaumont.
Written by Paige Bourgeois
