Daylight News

Fun & philanthropy

Lots of people adhere to the old adage, “work hard, play hard.” Daylight is no different, as evident by our love of office foosball. But it’s not only foos that keeps us connected. We also make it a priority to have fun outings every month or two. From happy hours, to bowling nights, to sporting events, we find the time to put the work stuff aside and enjoy each other’s company.

The importance of building kinship and community outside of the office setting is a value we hold dear at Daylight. But while being a productive company that finds time to have fun outside of the office is important, so is adding philanthropy into the mix. There is an onslaught of volunteering during the holidays, which is great, but what about the rest of the year? How do you get employees to want to give up precious free time when half of our lives are spent in the office? Who has the time to plan all these events?

Luckily, part of my job as an Office/HR Manager is to think up ways to have fun and volunteer. I’m not satisfied with the singular holiday volunteer event. I want there to be creative ways that we as a company can give back to our community throughout the year and for our employees to get a sense of how important and rewarding that can be. Keeping things fresh and fun is the key to keeping employees engaged. I believe that the more you build community inside and outside of the office, the stronger your company can be.

Through my short tenure here at Daylight I’ve had the pleasure of planning some pretty great events, with plenty more in the works. Below are some highlights.

Food Recovery Project at the Oregon Food Bank

Oregon Food Bank staff group photo

On Thursday, April 2, we headed over to the OFB. Their Food Recovery Project is billed as a “fast-paced food sorting adventure,” so of course I knew that it was the one for us. Our mission was to sort and repackage pears and citrus fruit. We were a repackaging machine by the end of the night, churning out boxes at break-neck speed. As part of the nationwide Feeding America organization, the Oregon Food Bank does so much to fight hunger and to educate the people of Oregon. 270,000 people, including 92,000 children, eat meals from OFB’s emergency food boxes each month. As we’re deciding which amazing Portland restaurant we want to go to tonight, so many others barely have enough to sustain themselves — a tough reality that many people, including myself sometimes, fail to comprehend. We had a blast volunteering and are excited to go back again soon. For information on how you can donate your funds or your time, go to Oregon Food Bank.

Blazers vs. Lakers

Daylight team sitting in the stands at a match

Please don’t hold this against him, but Jonathan, one of our Senior Developers, is a Lakers fan. Granted, he is from California, but regardless, he gets his fair share of torment in this office especially considering the season the Lakers have had so far. So when we had the opportunity to attend this game, we knew it would be a great time. The razzing was always good natured as the Blazers dominated 102 to 86. Jonathan accepted defeat graciously and we all enjoyed a night of rooting for our favorite basketball teams.

Christmas Family Adoption

Red and white gift boxes

We had the sincere pleasure of adopting a family to give gifts to this past Christmas. Portland-based Christmas Family Adoption Foundation made the whole process a breeze. They list eligible families on their website, all nominated by approved government or social agencies, and families or companies chose which they’d like to adopt. A wishlist is also made public as to help adopters know what they want and need. As a group, we picked out gifts for each family member, trying to think of the perfect toy or gadget or accessory that they would love. Then we wrapped all the gifts and dropped them off at the foundation headquarters to be delivered. We hope we brought some much needed cheer to a loving family that was going through a rough patch. Go to Adopt a Family for Christmas to adopt a family next Christmas.


Combining work, fun, and philanthropy is a winning mix for us here at Daylight. It helps keep us engaged and involved with our team and the community of Portland. So, really, the phrase should be “work hard, play hard, give back hard”…wait, that doesn’t sound good at all. I’ll have to think on this new idiom some more.

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