Always making a difference with his donations to various organizations, Brandon Ruiz– a litigation practice manager- believes in donating his time and his expertise as well.
“I already write checks to organizations regularly, but having a fairly niche and in-demand skillset means that my time is worth much more than my checks. I can easily give an organization the equivalent of a few thousand dollars worth of work without cutting into my normal cash giving.”
Brandon’s specialized knowledge helped the Secular Students Alliance update their employee handbook to be consistent with legal requirements. And working directly with Jericho Road Pasadena, he’s helping to update internal policies, ensuring consistency with California laws for smaller employers.
“Getting feedback from the nonprofit leader I worked with and seeing the look of relief cross his face as I explained the updates to the organization’s employee handbook was especially rewarding,” said Brandon, who also found the work more fun and interesting than he initially thought it would be. “It’s like a puzzle that is missing pieces, but you can’t easily tell which pieces are missing.”
Brandon’s advice to those considering volunteer opportunities? “This work is incredibly valuable to the recipient organizations and a relatively modest cost in time to you. Your impact will be wildly out of proportion to the amount of effort it takes you.”
Learn more about Jericho Road’s skills-based volunteer opportunities
Thanks to our volunteer, Lee Houck, for writing the JRP Volunteer Spotlights!