Selecting a Charity of Choice at Anvil is a tradition that is as old as time. Each quarter, employees nominate some of their favorite local charities that may be able to use some of our digital marketing services. Then, we put it to a vote: not just for the employees, but a live poll on our Facebook page, so that our employees, clients, and anyone the poll is shared with can help us decide. This quarter, we had some top contenders. After a week of voting and nearly 250 votes, we have chosen our winner.

This year’s nominated charities were some amazing contenders, and it would be a shame to not acknowledge each of them before announcing the winner.

Elected Charities

The first of our elected charities is the Community Cycling Center. The CCC is a bike shop turned philanthropy; while they still offer bike repair services, they also offer programs for those in the communities of northeast Portland. The focus is not only to bring biking to the areas as a healthy activity, but provide events and workshops to build skills, community and job training within these areas.

The Dougy Center is our next elected charity. Founded upon the memory of little Dougy, who passed away from childhood cancer, the Dougy Center is a place to go to help grieve the loss of a loved one and overcome the stigma of talking about death. The center helps over 850 individuals each month with peer support groups, with most of these individuals being children. The center has been recognized nationally for their pioneering support program.

Urban Gleaners is another of our nominations. Urban Gleaners is dedicated to collecting food that is left over or going to waste, and delivering it to those with food insecurity in our area. It’s simple; they drive out to their growing list of food donors, including restaurants, grocery stores and farms, to collect the extra food. They then bring it back to their warehouse to sort and package the food. The portions are then delivered to schools, apartments complexes, and even their own mobile markets to reach the people who need it most.

The runner-up charity that received plenty of votes is Rose Haven, a day shelter and community center for women and children experiencing abuse or homelessness. Rose Haven supports these individuals by offering hot meals, clothing, first aid, restrooms, and showers. Additionally, they also provide educational programs and guidance through medical and social services. By meeting basic needs and building trust, they “empower our guests to explore long-term change.”

Charity of Choice Winner

Though all of these charities are more than deserving of our help because of all the good they are doing in our community, there can only be one winner. This quarter, the winner is the Cat Adoption Team! The team, or the CAT for short, is a feline-only shelter dedicating to caring for homeless cats and finding them forever homes. The Cat Adoption Team will be receiving $2,500 in digital advertising services, including search engine optimization, which is vital for nonprofits to be found online. Congrats, CAT!

For more information about Anvil’s digital marketing services, please visit our services page.