Skip to main content

The joys of holiday giving at McGraw Hill

We asked four Red Cube Cares leaders, who are overseeing their office’s donations to local nonprofit organizations, to reflect on giving during this holiday season.

Tags: Article, Corporate

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and at McGraw Hill, it’s also a time for helping others. Our annual holiday giving campaign, which kicked off in November, is an opportunity for employees to support the communities we serve around the world. It also caps off our year-round volunteering efforts, which include Global Volunteer Week and Operation Backpack.

In the spirit of the season, we asked four Red Cube Cares leaders, who are overseeing their office’s donations to local nonprofit organizations, to reflect on giving during this time of year.

Meet Anke Weekes

Portfolio Director, Brand Management

Chicago, IL

Who is the Chicagoland team helping this year?

We're supporting The Greater Chicago Food Depository because 1 in 5 households in Chicagoland experience food insecurity.

What are the benefits of giving back with your coworkers?

Beyond the great feeling of giving back to an underserved community, I've loved getting to know colleagues I don't regularly work with, and building a deeper, more meaningful relationship with colleagues I work with daily. All around, volunteering with my colleagues has made me even more #RedCubeProud!

Do any moments from other giving campaigns stand out to you?

Over the summer I volunteered with my Chicagoland colleagues for "My Block, My Hood, My City," where we cleaned up a city block in the Humboldt Park neighborhood of Chicago. When we started, neighbors came out of their homes with stern looks on their faces wondering what was happening. As we kept working, we started seeing lots of smiles on people's faces and a few residents even cheered us on. They so appreciated that someone cared.

Meet Jesse Gwyn

Senior Administrative Coordinator, Digital Platform Group

New York, NY

Who is the New York City team helping this year?

For the seventh year in a row, we're supporting City Harvest. One of the most basic but important things you can do is feed someone. We're a community, and we take care of each other.

Do any moments from other giving campaigns stand out to you?

Seeing the McGraw Hill tote bags filled with fruits and vegetables at City Harvest! I loved the thought that so many people received those bags and could associate our company with such a great initiative.

What are you most looking forward to during this year's holiday giving campaign?

As always, I'm excited to see everyone accomplish their fundraising goals and reflect on the impacts we made.

Meet Lisa Nicks

Executive Manager, Accessibility

Dubuque, IA

Who is the Dubuque team helping this year?

We chose to once again support Resources Unite, which provides food, emergency shelter and other assistance to those in need within the Dubuque area. It also serves as the resource and volunteer center of the tri-state area.

Tell us about your office.

 The employees in the Dubuque office are a very compassionate and giving group. Year after year, we have hit our donation goal, and during Global Volunteer Week, we come out in record numbers to support our community.

What are you most looking forward to during this year's holiday giving campaign?

This year, we'd like to see our donations impact even more people in our community.

Meet Vicki Freet

Senior Human Resources Specialist

Columbus, OH

Who is the Columbus, Ohio, team helping this year?

We're partnering again with the Mid-Ohio Food Collective (MOFC), who we've been helping for a number of years. They provide more than 170,000 meals each day for hungry people in central and eastern Ohio.

Do any moments from other giving campaigns stand out to you?

One year, we helped sort food at the MOFC warehouse. It provided some laughs, as it reminded me of the "I Love Lucy" candy assembly line episode. But unlike Lucy and Ethel, we found our groove quickly and thankfully didn't have to eat any of the food in order to keep up!

What are you most looking forward to during this year's holiday giving campaign?

Our employees always pull through for us, especially during this campaign. There are so many people relying on our generous contributions of time and money to get through the holiday season. Even during rough and inflationary times, we always manage to meet or exceed our giving goal. I'm #RedCubeProud!