The LifeStraw team will be out of the office on Giving Tuesday. Here’s Why:

This time of year can be exhausting for all of us. We work long hours. We race home to spend time with our partners, our kids. We try to prepare for the holidays; spending late nights thinking about how we’ll get to the grocery store, what will be on the menu and looking for the perfect gifts for friends and family. There is never enough time in the day.

But our families and communities need more from us this holiday season. Our souls need more.

Here at Lifestraw, we believe it is essential that we make time for the joy of connection. We want to take the time to celebrate with each other and with our communities.

As managing director, I believe this company has a responsibility that goes beyond producing products. I believe that we, and all companies, have an obligation to give back, make an impact, and change the world for the better. (See LifeStraw’s Responsibility Report.) That obligation extends beyond giving money or distributing products. That obligation extends to our communities, our neighbors. It’s not just about grand gestures--it’s about the small things too. Sometimes the perfect gift is giving the gift of our own time. This I the DNA of our company and the DNA of our team.

So I am giving the LifeStraw team the day off work this Giving Tuesday, December 3, to volunteer or participate in activities that give back to their communities.

We’re calling it our “Give You” campaign--encouraging people to make time for each other.

We’d love it if you’d join us.

On Tuesday I will be donating my time with students at a local school. Troy, our National Accounts Manager, is teaming up with his paddling buddies for a beach cleanup in Seattle. Tara, our head of Brand, will be helping out in her daughter’s kindergarten classroom.

These are causes that are close to our hearts. There are so many ways to help out. You can find easy ideas for volunteering here.

Giving your time celebrates the people and communities we love and the bonds that tie us together. Volunteering is an act of expressing gratitude. So, to express your gratitude this season, Give You.

Give advice, give your time, give to a cause you are passionate about. And let us know about it. Use the hashtag #GiveYou and we’ll do the same. Together, let’s make the world a little brighter this holiday season.