If you work at a startup company then you are probably familiar with strict budgeting of money, time and other resources to stay competitive.  Even with the limited resources of a typical startup, Elemental does its best to stay involved with the community by doing good works for our neighbors here in Portland.  We like to get to know members of our community and play an active role in their lives and hearts.  This strong sense of community extends beyond the fourth floor of 620 SW Alder; it is a belief we enjoy sharing with a large number of Portlanders. 

We recently joined forces with Rebuilding Together, a national nonprofit that rehabilitates homes for low-income homeowners, particularly the elderly and those with disabilities.  Saturday, April 24, nine of us Elementals set out to refurbish the home of an elderly and disabled couple here in Portland (Most of the team is pictured above).  The home, inside and out, has been well cared for in the past, but as you can imagine, some things became unmanageable for them over the past few years. 

On this project, we worked with employees of several other organizations, including tech companies, Barco and Kryptiq.  All together there were 30 of us who worked from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. painting the home’s exterior, cleaning the yard—mowing, weeding and attacking dandelions—and inside, remodeling the kitchen.  At one point, while Albert was cleaning the gutters, Steve tried to help by using a hose to flush them out.  Unbeknownst to Steve, Albert was at the other end and let’s just say we had one soaked and filthy worker! 

During the day neighbors brought us snacks to show their appreciation.  Everyone, especially the homeowners, was happy with the outcome; the results were like night and day. The cheerful newly yellow home truly fits the couple's name for their house, "Rainbow's End" (above, CEO Sam remounts the rainbow on the house for the finishing touch).

In the true startup spirit, it's always amazing what you can do in a day when you set your mind to it. This was a great team building experience for Elemental – when we were done, we were covered in smiles and paint!  We are looking forward to our next community service outing on June 14 at the Forest Park Conservancy where we will be lending a hand in restoring a mountain biking trail.

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