Before I started working here, my image of Google was little more than a colorful logo and a large company with a reputation for employee perks like free food and onsite massages - many, many states away from my home in Michigan.
Within my first month at Google I became a volunteer for Google Grants. It’s almost two years later and I now coordinate regular Google Grants events for the entire Ann Arbor office. It has been my privilege to foster our office's commitment to our ever-expanding community of Google Grantees. I'm consistently amazed at the impact my Midwestern colleagues and I have had on so many deserving local and national non-profit organizations. In 2009 alone, we have helped more than 400 Grantees get started with AdWords advertising. I'm truly honored to be a champion of the Google Grants program amongst my coworkers and community, and the passion for service I've experienced as a Grants volunteer is like none I have ever experienced before.
Google, to me, is no longer a distant California campus; it is part of my Michigan home. It’s a place where maple leaves cycle through the seasons outside my office window. It’s a place where communities pull together. It’s a place that’s not all about amenities. In fact, it’s not about what Google gives to me at all, but rather what I am encouraged to give back, that makes me proud to be a part of this unique and inspirational company.
Posted by Colby Chilcote, Google Ann Arbor
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