What's at the heart of the DatamaxCares initiative? Many things, really.

The many programs we support year after year have needs that obviously persist beyond the holiday season. Where there are needs, we’re there through the calendar year. Dragon Boat Races that support the Children’s Protection Center. Donations and deliveries to Dallas/Fort Worth Children’s homes. Ongoing support of a Food Bank in East Texas. After-hour sessions of offering our time, and our labor, to help where it’s needed.

With routine fundraising efforts, a mission to help, and a heart to serve, “the pledge to create raving friends through offering our contributions, volunteers, and leadership to help others need every chance possible” (Little Blue Book) shows itself in many ways. So why do we serve? There are many, many reasons. Here are just a few.

We do it to connect.

Little Rock Account Manager Nathan Vibhakar has a deep connection to Camp Aldersgate, a nonprofit that provides a safe, barrier-free camp experience for children with special needs. So when the opportunity came to help out this fall, he jumped on it.

“I volunteered as a camp counselor out there when I was younger. I would stay through the week and take the kids fishing, teach them crafts, give them that normal camp experience,” Nathan said. “So this one hit close to home for me.”

As we’ve done in previous years, several Little Rock employees headed out in October to help support Camp Aldergate’s annual fish fry, their biggest fundraiser of the year. The afternoon event brought several organizations within the community to connect for a great cause. Nathan said it was inspiring to see so many groups within the community come together.

Even so, he harkens back to his previous experiences as a counselor and reflects on what feels so great about doing our part to help the camp however we can. It’s that connection.

“Seeing kids’ faces, when they catch a fish for the first time? It’s hard to beat that.”

We do it for families.

Tamara Hargrove worked at Arkansas Children’s Hospital for 25 years, so she’s extremely familiar with the work of the Ronald McDonald House in Little Rock. The nonprofit provides a "home-away-from-home" for families of children being treated at area hospitals and support programs that serve the needs of children.

Datamax Inc. President Barry Simon serves on the board there. And Tamara is more than willing to help out whenever it’s needed. In June, the group spent an evening prepping, cooking, and serving meals to the families staying there. It’s something they’ve done before, and something they are prepared to do again soon.

“It’s such a wonderful cause. They rely on volunteers to help come cook food and get it set up for families staying there,” Tamara said. “These kids are often in really bad situations. You want them to be able to focus on the care of their child, not worry about where they are going to stay or what they are going to eat. The fact that we are able to help the parents not worry about these aspects of their lives? I’m all for that.”

We do it to fulfill basic community needs.

When East Texas Solutions Specialist Robert Baker filled out his annual “Start/Stop/Continue” survey in early 2021, he had a specific vision in mind. Create a partnership with a community entity that helped our neighbors, while sustaining a long-term community partnership.

“At that time, Datamax was still a fairly new name in the East Texas marketplace. East Texas businesses like doing business with local companies that are involved in the community,” Baker said.

But it was more than just that. It was about being a good neighbor. So the East Texas team came up with the Multiply Meals Plan: For every nominal purchase with Datamax, we will make a $50 donation to the East Texas Food Bank, in honor of the purchasing organization.

“I don’t think we could have delivered a better program to the East Texas marketplace than partnering with East Texas Food Bank. This is truly helping East Texas families that are experiencing hardships by delivering much-needed meals,” Baker said.

We do it because it’s who we are.

“The fact that Datamax has its hands on so many pots giving back. That speaks volumes to what we are as a company,” Nathan says. “We’re not just hawking printers. We’re truly involved. As an employee, it’s nice to see us continue to give back, with no strings attached. That’s just the kind of people we are.”