HEROware Hero Mixes Technology with Giving on his Island Home

HEROware Hero Mixes Technology with Giving on his Island Home

November 6, 2013

On the island of Maui, business survival takes on a whole new meaning. There is a saying on the island, according to HEROware customer and Maui resident George Cabanting, that within your first year of business, the island will either embrace you or spit you out.

Fortunately for George, the island has embraced his business, Oxford Computer Services, LLC. This is due to the “aloha spirit” that George brings to all his business dealings. He believes in showing thanks to his community and his clients, which he does through volunteering and providing excellent service to his technology customers.

While Maui is small in sense of community, many parts of it are geographically remote. Through partnerships with companies such as HEROware, George is able to give even clients that are located hours away the type of professional, focused and friendly service that the locals have come to appreciate.

However, providing knowledgeable service isn’t enough to achieve business success on the island. George also donates his time to a feeding program for the needy that is located inside the church building of one of his clients, St. Theresa Parish. The kitchen, named Hale Kau Kau (translated as “house of food”) holds an annual fundraiser for which George volunteers his time to set up, manage and troubleshoot all technology. His role in this fundraiser is critical for the auction and fundraising portion of the event.

While George finds personal fulfillment in helping the less fortunate, he has a more spiritual reason for giving back in this way: “In Maui,” he says, “it is important to give back to the Hawaiian and Catholic gods to thank them for your good business fortune.”

Fortunately for George, he has a lot of business fortune to give thanks for and the reason why is clear. “On such a small island, resources are few so a lot is expected of you. If you aren’t providing a quality business, you can fail very rapidly,” he says.

George has clearly met the challenge of running a business on the island, adding, “In Maui, the cream always rises to the top.”

HEROware Hero Gives Back to His Hometown

In the two years since Brandon Phipps founded Second Star Technologies, he has used his business as a platform to advance his volunteer passions, which center around helping others in his hometown of Bakersfield, Calif.

Brandon founded Second Star Technologies in April 2011, after the company where he was working went down with the local economy. Overnight, what had started as a hobby for his wife and him in their spare time became a full-time career.
As he grows his company and achieves his own career dreams, Brandon never forgets where he comes from. He has actively lent his technology talents to Bakersfield residents who have suffered loss due to a flood.

“By rebuilding computers for families that have lost everything, I make it possible for their kids to do their school work so they don’t get even more behind,” he says.

Brandon also uses the Search Engine Optimization of his own company, as well as his large social media following, to get the word out for other favorite local nonprofits. These include Destroy Illusions Anti-Bullying School Assembly, which raises money to bring free anti-bullying school assemblies to schools that can’t afford them and the Bakersfield SCPA, a no-kill animal shelter.

Additionally, he supports, through messaging to his company’s growing community, two other organizations: I Love Pit Bulls and Students Unite Against Bullying.

“We try to make the messages coming from our company about the community and not just focus on ourselves,” he says.

Mavidea Puts the “Fun” in Fundraising

Mavidea Puts the “Fun” in Fundraising

When James Justice, a technician with Mavidea Technology Group in Bloomington, Illinois, passed away in February, 2013 after a long illness, his colleagues decided they wanted to honor him in the only way they know how: by holding the goofiest fundraiser they could think of.

Enter the James Justice Wiffle Ball Tournament, which took place in June, 2013 and raised more than $1,000 toward the education of the daughter that Justice left behind. The tournament included a cookout, family activities and, in true Mavidea style, awards for such things as “Team That Throws Most Like a Girl.”
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