Community Involvement

Mesa County Valley School District 51 is the largest school district on the Western Slope of Colorado and the 14th largest school district in the state. They launched D51 Online School in 2020 to “engage, equip, and empower” students via virtual learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Ironistic proudly gave a generous donation to D51 Online School and is pleased to provide assistance with their team members to aid in the evolution of this initiative.

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Since 2014 we have contributed money to the athletic programs at West Potomac High School in Alexandria, Virginia through the banner sponsor program.  I guess you can say we’re biased since Chris and Rita’s kids compete for West Potomac.  In any case, we’re still rooting for their success. Go WOLVERINES!

SCAN is an organization in Northern Virginia whose mission is to promote the wellbeing of children, improve parent-child relations and prevent child abuse and neglect through education and advocacy. In addition to the SCAN website we have also donated time and financial support to SCAN causes over the years. Our contribution is the equivalent of sponsoring a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer for an abused or neglected child for 18 months. SCAN’s goal is for every child in foster care to return home or be placed in a permanent adoptive home within 18 months. As much as we love our kids, it pains us to know that abuse and neglect in our community if very real.

Garrett Mentors, Inc. is a nonprofit organization in Maryland that provides pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade children in the Garrett County Public Schools with caring, committed, adult mentors. These volunteer mentors serve as positive role models to children with various needs and backgrounds. Since a large percentage of our staff at Ironistic has strong ties to Garrett County, and we all recognize the tremendous value in providing a positive influence to children in need, it was a natural decision to support this particular nonprofit organization.

In 2014 we volunteered our time and skills to help Garrett Mentors improve their online presence with a brand new website, and we continue our support by hosting and maintaining that website. We also host an annual charity Texas Hold’Em tournament every summer, which brings in approximately $1,000 for Garrett Mentors, Inc. each year. Of course, this has nothing to do with Chris’s gambling problem, especially since he loses the tournament every year!

The impact of the new website has been tremendous. Laura Fike, Director of Garrett Mentors, Inc. calls it “a game-changer.” Visually appealing and easy to use, the website has improved and expanded all aspects of the program, from fundraising and recruiting new volunteers to sharing information about Garrett Mentors and its events. The functionality of the site ultimately saves Laura and her team valuable time that can be focused on making improvements and carrying out the most important task at hand: mentoring the children.

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In 2015, we provided funding for the Lakeland Stars U11 Youth Travel Baseball team based out of Brightondale, Wisconsin. Our support helped the team, which Jared’s sons Colton and Brody played for, to participate in the travel baseball program throughout Wisconsin. This year, we donated money for the Storm Baseball program in Salem, Wisconsin to enable a 12U boys’ baseball team to travel to Cooperstown, New York to participate in the Cooperstown Dreams Park National Invitational Tournament in July 2017. In this tournament, held each year since 1996, young players play against children from all over the world. The participants are inducted into the American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame, which includes receiving the coveted American Youth Baseball Hall of Fame ring and officially becoming one of the Cooperstown Dreams Park Little Majors.  It will truly be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these young boys, which includes Jared’s sons. Go Colton and Brody!!

This Club, based out of Kenosha, Wisconsin, promotes and provides support to enable Mite-aged hockey players (ages 6-8) in Wisconsin and Illinois to play full ice hockey. We helped the Club promote its third annual Jets Fest fundraising event by voluntarily designing a new Jets Fest logo and providing flyers and posters for the event. The upcoming Jets Fest is critical to the Club’s mission to support young hockey players, as it is one of the only fundraising events held during the year for the Club. All proceeds will go directly to the Wisconsin Jets Youth Hockey Club for hockey equipment, upkeep of the arena, and more. We do love hockey, but we should also mention that we have a vested interest in supporting two of the players on the team. Go get ‘em, Ben and Zachary!

How gratifying is it when you can make a difference in the life of a terminally ill child?  We had a unique opportunity to do this through support to Whitetails Unlimited by sponsoring a hunt for one particular child so that his dream could come true. Whitetails Unlimited is a national nonprofit conservation organization whose mission is to improve the habitat of wildlife, particularly white-tailed deer. This is something near and dear to Jared’s heart, and in fact, we also regularly contribute funds towards Whitetails Unlimited’s mission. Through Whitetails Unlimited’s partnership with Catch A Dream Foundation, wishes come true for children suffering from life-threatening diseases, particularly when those wishes have to do with hunting and fishing outdoors.  Unlike most of the organizations, which do not allow hunting trips, Catch A Dream Foundation provides once-in-a-lifetime hunting experiences for terminally ill children 18 and under.

Watch D.O.G.S. (Dads Of Great Students) is a volunteer program that focuses on increasing the involvement level of men in our school. The program increases our Watch D.O.G.S. knowledge of what their child is doing at school and provides a great opportunity for our students to work with positive male role models.

“I had such a great experience volunteering at my daughter’s elementary school. I was involved with greeting kids off their buses, helping a teacher from each grade, recess activities, and being an extra hand. My favorite part of the day was sitting down for lunch with my daughter and her friends.” ~ Justin Trevorrow

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Camp Kesem is a nationwide nonprofit organization that provides a free summer camp for kids of past and present cancer patients. Camp Kesem has chapters at more than 100 college campuses across the country where more than 3,000 student volunteers work year-round to raise money to send over 6,000 kids to a camp near them. During the week of camp, counselors organize fun games and activities to help give kids in a difficult situation a chance to “just be kids.” Camp Kesem helps kids of all ages develop a support network of others going through similar circumstances that extends past just the week of camp.

We love to support this organization because who doesn’t love summer camp?! The kids who attend Camp Kesem are often an overlooked population, so we support them with endless songs (our fave: Gimme that Mac & Cheese), s’mores (yum!), and arts & crafts (duct tape bow ties are the best). In return, the campers teach the counselors to never take life too seriously and to always be grateful for your family and friends. Camp Kesem truly makes a lifelong difference in these kids’ lives – and more than 98% of parents agree!

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As you can see on this page, Ironistic is all about community involvement; however, our signature community effort is our annual RUN! GEEK! RUN! 5K race in Alexandria, VA. As a 5K race that encourages health and wellness and supports a different non-profit annually, RUN! GEEK! RUN!’s versatility and mission make them a perfect partner for Ironistic. We pride ourselves in doing what we love and loving what we do, which spans way beyond our roles and responsibilities as a digital agency. 

Each year, the entire team at Ironistic works to create an amazing race that benefits a local charity in Alexandria. Past Beneficiaries include The Child and Family Network Centers (CFNC), National Industries for the Blind (NIB), the Alexandria Seaport Foundation, Alexandria Firefighters Helping Hands Relief Foundation, and Capital Post.

The RUN! GEEK! RUN! 5K is a fun, family-friendly road race that has been taking place each September in the Washington D.C. area since 2008. In 2016, Ironistic took over the management and production of the event because of the amazing IMPACT we knew we could make on our team and our community. But what does that mean? Well, it’s safe to say that RUN! GEEK! RUN!’s IMPACT is so much larger than the actual race day. Each year Ironistic and RUN! GEEK! RUN! set (and surpass!) pre-race day goals that encourage participants and sponsors to sign up, get involved, and help raise funds for a non-profit organization in our community. In addition, we bring together various Alexandria groups and local schools to help with the presentation of the colors, singing of the national anthem, racecourse entertainment, and more. 

There’s nothing more fulfilling than contributing to the continued growth of RUN! GEEK! RUN! each year — growth in participation, online outreach, sponsorships, donations, and smiling faces come race day. To learn more about this year’s beneficiary and to sign up for the race, check out RUN! GEEK! RUN!’s official website and lace-up for a great cause.

Since 2014 we have contributed money to the athletic programs at West Potomac High School in Alexandria, Virginia through the banner sponsor program.  I guess you can say we’re biased since Chris and Rita’s kids compete for West Potomac.  In any case, we’re still rooting for their success. Go WOLVERINES!

Walk to Cure Arthritis is the Arthritis Foundation’s annual community fundraising 5K walk event.  The funds raised from the 5K support our nonprofit mission and research aimed at finding a cure for arthritis, America’s leading cause of disability. Whether you have a family member or loved one who suffers from arthritis or are simply looking for a walking or running event for charity, the Walk to Cure Arthritis is a great way to get moving in support of a worthwhile cause!

“We’ve done the event a few times at the Mall of America. What a lot of people don’t know is that arthritis is not just for adults, but children as well. This event is a fun way to inform and show support. Our team themes change every year we participate, but this last one we were pirates. ‘ARRRRTHRITIS CAN WALK THE PLANK!’”

~ Justin Trevorrow

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The Active for Autism 5K is an annual race held by The Organization for Autism Research (OAR). OAR is an organization founded and led by parents and grandparents of children with autism, who serve as the Board of Directors “providing leadership, life experience, and heart.” Since the inception of Active for Autism 5K, Ironistic has proudly sponsored (and partaken in!) the race every year.

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The SBDC is a free community resource that provides workshops, training, and confidential individual guidance for startups and existing businesses. We provide an annual donation towards the small business resource services that the SBDC offers.

Since we are all about having a good time too, we help sponsor various events the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce holds throughout the year, such as their Annual Business Awards, and the Alexandria Chamber Professional Women’s Network’s (ACPWN) Coffee and Connections and Perfect Pairings events. These events support the growth and strengthening of local businesses.

And just because we want to spread our love of nerdery for those in need, we donated laptops to Computer C.O.R.E., an organization based in Northern Virginia whose mission is to teach basic computing, technological and life skills to low-income adults. Our donation contributed directly to C.O.R.E.’s ability to help these adults pursue their dreams and ultimately find meaningful work.

The Mount Vernon-Lee Chamber of Commerce has represented the Lee and Mount Vernon business communities since 1954 and currently supports over 300 members. We contribute to the organization by hosting workshops on website, SEO and marketing strategy so that business owners can improve their digital outreach. Aside from empowering businesses within the area and encouraging people to shop locally, MVLCC has an initiative that provides scholarships for students pursuing further education in the business field.

Ironistic is all about getting down to business, and by sponsoring WEBA, we’re lucky enough to be a part of their close-knit business community in Alexandria, Virginia. WEBA’s goal is to help strengthen and educate the West End of Alexandria’s businesses while simultaneously bringing them together in unity. There’s no better way to achieve that than with the help of networking events like happy hours and “Lunch and Learns” hosted at some of our favorite local restaurants and hotels. WEBA was formed in 2005 and continues to educate its members on policies and new businesses that affect the community.

Fight to End Exploitation (FEE) is a Wisconsin-based 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, charitable organization whose mission is to stop human trafficking in Wisconsin. They are a collaborative network that advocates for victims and educates the communities. Many organizations, agencies and community members including law enforcement, juvenile and domestic abuse shelters, aftercare facilities, human services, child advocacy centers, sexual assault services, SANE nurses, counselors, legal advocates, churches and Crime Stoppers, as well as many other organizations in the community, all work together to fight human trafficking.

In March of 2019, FEE will be sponsoring a second annual Traffick JAM.  The goal of this event is to educate 7^th-12^th graders in the SE Wisconsin area and empower them to stay safe.  With Traffick JAM, FEE wants to minimize risk factors to reduce vulnerabilities.  Included in the event will be information on self-worth, healthy relationships, internet safety, communication skills, and self-defense. Highlights will include a keynote by a survivor, as well as a concert to end the day. A half-day parent education track will also be offered.

Several Ironistic employees volunteer their time and skills to help with Traffick JAM and the FEE organization. Among other things, registration for the 2019 Traffick JAM event will be handled by Ironistic.