“You’re not going to find happiness. You have to make it. So get out there and make some happiness.” –Jocko Willink
About a year ago, our company started down a path. We had grown to a size that would employ a handful of guys and, aside from the normal routines of business, we lacked a fundamental direction. Like many wise speakers would suggest, we spent time to analyze our position and set a goal to aim towards. Soon after, we rewired our corporate identity around one simple ideal. Instead of fluffing out our marketing stuff with lofty business-speak, we settled on a simple, attainable premise;
Make things better.
Our company had sponsored local sports teams in the past and, while the funds provided allowed kids to have fun, learn about competitive team play and build sporting skills, we wanted to see exactly how far we could stretch our ‘sponsorship dollars’. Enter; Stack-Up.
Some years ago, Bill (our IT Manager) had spoken with Stephen, now the founder of Stack-Up on a podcast episode surrounding a similar project Stephen had worked on to support the troops. We got the idea, based on this conversation, to put our own skills to work in support of soldiers. After a quick Google search we found Stack-Up and made contact with Dave, the Director of Veteran Services.
We know that the tasks allocated to our military members are arduous and taxing. These difficult feats of heroism are well beyond the scope of our work, but, determined to help, we found a way to support the soldiers that so diligently protect our nation and our allies.
Our approach was simple – let’s use what we know to help bolster the back-end. We asked for support from our main distirbutor, ASI, who kindly sent us a motherboard and processor. Next, we fixed up some old systems and sold them on local online markets for cash which was then used to purchase the parts to make our first gaming system.
That’s the crux of this whole idea – gaming as the means to support.
Gaming has provided our staff with wonderful experiences, opportunities to practice empathy and a worldwide community of people to share these moments with. No longer a hobby reserved for kids, we’ve put gaming to work to support the strongest among us – active duty soldiers and veterans of NATO forces through the wonderful programming at Stack-Up.
As we endeavor to build our next rig for the Supply Crate program at Stack-Up, we’d like to take the time to thank our wonderful sponsors who made this inaugural build such a shining success;
