Remember seeing the coverage of New Yorkers heading out to their balconies at 7 pm every night during the early days of the pandemic? They cheered and banged on pots and pans to show their love and admiration for the nurses and doctors on the frontline of the battle against COVID-19. Some health care workers were coming off their shift at that time exhausted, tearful, and not sure they could get through another day. Others would be arriving at the hospital, praying that they could hold it together under extremely stressful conditions. As a community, New Yorkers wanted to show their appreciation and support in the biggest way possible, so they made some noise night after night.
As leaders in the corporate wellness industry, and experts in mental health and wellbeing, Work Well NW, would like to make some noise for a business that recently caught our attention: Give InKind. Like Work Well NW, Give InKind adds value to the health and wellbeing of employees in the workplace, but in a unique way. www.giveinkind.com
Founder Laura Malcolm created Give InKind in response to the stillbirth of her daughter, Layla. Even from the cocoon of her depression, Laura could sense her friends and family were struggling to know how to help her. Should they send meals? Clean her house? What could they do to show their love in the most positive way? She knew they were at a loss to do the right thing but because of her own grief, she could not articulate her needs to them either.
As they emerged from the fog of their loss, Laura, and her husband James, decided to honor Layla’s death by creating a company that could help others during their own tragedies. They poured their hearts into creating a business of support that allows friends, families, and co-workers to easily organize as a team and offer vital services from anywhere in the world when something unthinkable happens to someone they know and love.
Suzy Green, co-founder of Work Well NW, shared recently, “Colleagues are often the first to know when tragedy strikes. They are there when the unwanted phone call comes through announcing the death of a family member or that a tragic accident has occurred. Co-workers are left to pick up the pieces, make phone calls or try to figure out how best to help their friend.”
Companies that offer mindfulness and yoga classes through Work Well NW, have already created a culture of support that makes negotiating these challenges a little easier. However, this support is magnified by soliciting the help of Give InKind. Using this program, companies can create their own InKind page and follow the prompts to effortlessly organize what needs to be done to support their employee.
While banging pots and pans did a lot to boost the morale of the health care workers in New York, making an immediate and personal impact on the life of someone experiencing an overwhelming situation is even more powerful for the long term. Work Well NW salutes Laura and her team at Give InKind for offering businesses a way to foster another layer of wellbeing for their work family.