In 2016, we decided it was time to start doing our part to make our city a greater place to live, work, eat, and visit. We started thinking about what we could do internally to expand our reach. By increasing our team efforts with these initiatives, we have realized that a commitment to contributing responsibly to our city and to organizations who are making an impact to the health and well-being of our environment and population is where we needed to focus our attention.
We started by volunteering with a non-profit organization called Keep Indianapolis Beautiful in October 2016. This group’s presence is known all around town. You cannot drive down the streets of Indianapolis without seeing something they have done. If you’ve seen the murals painted on the underpasses in downtown areas, or even groups in clean-up efforts in the city picking up trash, you have witnessed the hard work and dedication to the Indianapolis environment of KIBI.
In September 2016, we were the title sponsor of the AUSA Indy Ten Miler race which was hosted by the Capital Warrior Battalion Student Association, the Studen Association of Army ROTC Cadets at IUPUI, and Heartland Endurance Sports. This race hits a soft spot with us as Jim Middleton, our CTO, is a United States Marine Corp Veteran. With his twin sons enrolled at IUPUI and the goal of the race being to benefit the Captial Warrior Student Association, not only did we contribute as financially, but our whole team participated in the race.
Starting in March 2017, we also engaged with Susan G Komen of Central Indiana and formed the first ever Optiform Race for the Cure team. This race means a lot to each of us. We have all been affected by breast cancer in some way. The organization does amazing things for Central Indiana. The money raised in the annual Race for the Cure goes stays right here in our area. According to the Komen website: “Last year’s grant cycle funded over 59,000 life-saving breast health services, including mammograms, diagnostics, patient navigation and survivor support to 22,000 individuals in central Indiana.” We hope to continue to fill this well of funds with our efforts.