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Slingshot SEO volunteers with KIB
I arrived to Keep Indianapolis Beautiful around 9:10 on Saturday morning. In reality, it was Friday morning, but since the SEO firm we work for is closed for research on Friday, it certainly felt like Saturday morning to most of us. Some of my co-workers from Slingshot SEO were also arriving a few minutes late, while the punctual ones discussed weekend plans over coffee and bagels. We gathered in a conference room adorned with boards of information about Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, Inc. (KIBI) and maps of the city indicating recycling drop offs, targeted tree-planting areas, and more.
Tammy Stevens gave a brief presentation and tour to the anxious group of Slingshot volunteers, during which she told us the history of Keep Indianapolis Beautiful. She detailed the pitfalls of the organization’s previous headquarters where they occupied multiple levels of a downtown office building with no electricity for artificial light or temperature control. She explained how they ultimately found their new home in Fountain Square (just south and east of the traditional downtown sector) and taught us about the environmental impact of the various installments outside their building. Most interestingly, we learned that a pervious pavement parking lot, two rain gardens, and a storm water-capturing cistern keep nearly half (270,000 gallons) of the storm water that falls onsite from entering the city’s combined sewer system. Why is this important? Because storm water carries pollutants into our sources of drinking water, and contributes to numerous dumps of raw sewage into White River each year.
After our tour, it was time to get down to business. We met Ginny Roberts, Director of Urban Gardens at KIBI, who would be our instructor for the next two and a half hours. Except that she really didn’t give us too much direction to go on, other than to show us where a pile of wood planks was and to tell us where the power tools could be found.
I could tell by the facial expressions and reactions of my co-workers that I was not the only one worried and confused. As I bounced from person to person gauging their perception of the task at hand, I realized that a lot of us were expecting to arrive to some sort of hammer-by-number activity in which we would be shown a step-by-step process for laying out and assembling arbor roofs. Instead, we were provided with a variety of tools and resources to complete our assignment as we saw fit and it was all up to us.
Lucky for Ginny, just as is the case in the office, employees at Slingshot SEO are self-starters- and enthusiastic ones, at that. A handful of leaders emerged from the group of 20+ Slingshotters and slowly but surely started piecing together the first arbor roof. In this environment, removed from our various job titles and levels of SEO expertise, we were all on an even playing field. Today, those with superb craftsman skills, unique problem solving methods, and big-picture thinking would shine the strongest as they built “the example”. Within 20 minutes of putting their plan into action, the skeleton frame of the roof had inspired two more groups to branch off and begin their own roof project.
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I buddied with a couple of friends from my department to get in on the action. “We should be artsy with it. Let’s make our own design,” said one of my group members. Following her lead, we developed an exciting fan design that abandoned the traditional grid model and caught the attention of all who walked by as we built. After effortlessly drilling in half of the necessary screws to hold our design in place, the only male in our group looked up and offered the cordless power tool to the ladies. “Want to give it a shot?” One stepped forward, albeit cautiously, and gave it her all. I watched with much pride as the drill-expert broke it down for the novice and explained how to work the piece of equipment. When she struggled, he explained why she was hitting roadblocks and offered advice to correct her form. Nearly 40 minutes later, we had completed our ornate arbor roof and posed for a picture to bask in the glory.
Not yet ready to call it a day, we decided to test the repeatability of our fan design. In what felt like half as many minutes as the first production run, we completed roof #2 and added it to the “completed” stack outside. All in all, the collective Slingshot group built 12 arbor roofs. And we had a blast doing it.
The entire experience of coming together on a voluntary basis to give our time to one of Indianapolis’ most successful not-for-profit organizations was exciting, rewarding, fun, and satisfying. I enjoyed watching our group of internet geeks and SEO experts come together in an environment totally foreign to our normal line of work in pursuit of a common goal. I delighted in the ways which we helped each other and learned from each other. In reality, that’s really no different than a normal day in the office, but it’s also proof that valuable life skills such as patience, empathy, the desire to help, and the desire to learn are versatile and can be applied in all facets of life.
Thanks to Slingshot and Keep Indianapolis Beautiful for giving our company such an amazing opportunity to work together and give back to the community. My expectations were exceeded in every way possible.
Danielle Look is a Social Media Networker at the Indianapolis-based Slingshot SEO, a company specializing in SEO services. The company participated in a voluntary outing at Keep Indianapolis Beautiful, building arbors to go in local community gardens. In her spare time, she covers local music for NUVO.net and IndyMojo.com. She is currently pursuing a marketing degree from the Kelley School of Business at IUPUI.
