A Year of Giving

By Natalia Solovyova - December 21, 2021

Customertimes has been committed to philanthropic giving since the very beginning, and as our company has grown, we’ve increased our efforts along with it. We are a trusted partner for many charities, and we are happy to support so many organizations that provide educational and social services for children and adults around the world.  

Here’s a quick update on our 2021 year of giving. Many thanks to the team that made it possible!  

USA 

In the US, we work closely with PepUp Tech, an organization that gives motivated, underserved students the training, mentorship, and opportunity to begin a career in tech.  

Credit: Zachary Schulman Photography

PepUp Tech places at least 94% of their graduates in tech roles after graduation, and we are proud to have hired several interns and full-time employees directly from their program. We also fund a full-time Director of Workplace Development to help place their students in jobs, and many of our own team members donate their time to help train PepUp students.  

France 

The Pause’Autism organization in France supports people on the autism spectrum. They provide critical support to families of children with ASD in addition to working directly with kids and adults with autism. They are building a new facility, and we are helping to fund the construction.  

Ukraine 

In Ukraine, we continue to support Seeing with your Heart and the IT Academy.  

Seeing with your Heart is committed to giving people with developmental disabilities a full, dignified life. They host a summer camp, Kosmotabir, in Kyiv to give children a month-long holiday where they can have fun and enjoy activities at their own pace.  

Kosmotabir groups children by age instead of diagnoses and pairs them with trained volunteers that help them have an incredible camp experience.  

We also support a socialization school for kids ages 10-16, where we like to say that big and small miracles take place every day. We have cooking lessons, yoga, art, and other classes that teach them to be independent and embrace the world around them. Take a look at their graduation ceremony this year:  

Our team in Ukraine also works closely with IT Academy. There, speakers from Customertimes and other companies teach students about careers in IT while helping them develop important life skills.  

This month, we held a master class where we taught more than 50 kids about the future of tech and what they can do to prepare for a good career.  

We love that IT Academy hires its own graduates to teach their students and runs a summer IT camp that brings more kids into their programs.  

Belarus 

This summer, we purchased new furniture for the children at Vkluchenie to give them a safe, comfortable place to hang out.  

We also proudly support the Slavyanin Football Club. With our support, the trainers from the club hold workouts and training sessions with the children at orphanages in the city of Minsk. They give the kids some much needed fun physical activity, but they also play board games and spend time talking to the kids to let them know they’re not alone in the middle of a difficult situation.  

Russia 

In the Orenburg region of Russia, we support an orphanage in the village of Kirsanovka. This year, 50 children at the orphanage were left homeless when a hurricane swept through and tore the roof off the dormitory building.  

Repairing the roof quickly was critical because not only were the children left without a home, but any rainy weather would further damage the sleeping quarters. 

The director of the orphanage asked Customertimes to help repair the roof so the kids could return to their normal place as soon as possible. We paid for the repairs, and within a few weeks, the dormitory had a new roof.  

We’ve also provided a gazebo, playroom furnishings, backpacks, new shoes and more to help improve the lives of the children little by little. This photo is from one of their dance performances this year, and check out their new trampoline! 

This Christmas, we’re putting on our elf suits again and preparing presents to wish the kids a happy New Year.