BDO Counts Awards: 2024 Honorees

Rockenbach has become an influential part of BDO's social impact efforts, organizing a variety of volunteer activities in the Minneapolis office, including events for Special Olympics and Habitat for Humanity. Known affectionately as the "office mom," she inspires and motivates her colleagues to participate in community service. A notable achievement this past year was her coordination of an Adopt-A-Highway cleanup event during BDO's Week of Service, where local professionals successfully cleaned up a two-mile stretch of highway. 

Said Rockenbach: “I am always on the lookout for different opportunities and volunteer events around Minneapolis that my office can get involved in. If professionals want to give back, it’s important to me to make that happen by identifying and organizing service events aligned with our four cause areas.”

When Hale moved to Tampa, Florida, in May 2020, she saw it as an opportunity to make community service a significant part of her life, especially during the pandemic. Starting with Feeding Tampa Bay, she regularly sorted and packed food, and soon expanded her efforts to Habitat for Humanity, inspired by a previous experience with the Habitat Global Village program in New Zealand. Hale was recently appointed to the board for Habitat Hillsborough while focusing on fundraising efforts and building new houses in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. A long-time supporter of Big Brothers Big Sisters – she served as a “Big” in college – she also is a member of their Tampa Bay board of directors.

When asked to give advice for anyone thinking about doing more community service, Hale said, “Find something you’re passionate about that will motivate you to volunteer regularly. Also, recruit friends! You can spend time with them all while helping a cause you’re passionate about.”

Rudenkiy credits her service-first mindset to her parents, who instilled in her the importance of helping others from a young age. Her volunteer work has taken her all over the world, including aiding refugees in Ukraine and Poland in 2022, and supporting children and single mothers in Mexico in 2020 and 2021. Her service work is now focused on helping others locally. She has volunteered at the high school camp for her church, leading campers on initiatives such as supporting the Boys & Girls Club, beautification projects at local schools, operating food trucks to help the homeless community and distributing groceries to those in need.

When asked to give advice for anyone thinking about doing more community service, she said, “Passion drives action. Once you find something you care about, your appetite to volunteer will grow. While you are the person giving your time, you also receive this incredible feeling that’s hard to describe when you can see first-hand how you helped someone.”

Throughout 2023, Chicagoland professionals volunteered with the Alain Locke Charter School, including fulfilling holiday wishes with their Angel Giving Tree, improving students’ academics and confidence with one-to-one tutoring, and donating coats through a coat drive.

“The positive impact of our volunteerism has not only helped weave a stronger bond between the Chicagoland offices, strengthening the impact we can make, but also left a lasting impact on the students and families,” said Creative Services Senior Design Specialist Julia Pachla. “Seeing the students’ faces light up whenever we volunteer with them is priceless, and I am excited to continue fostering our relationship with the school.”

The Greater Baltimore offices were recognized for their work enhancing various educational sites on behalf of The Y in Central Maryland, including Lillie May Carroll Jackson Charter School and Camp Day Service. Their volunteer work included rearranging furniture, cleaning up the school site, fixing up paint and cleaning up the classrooms to help get the school ready for the students to return.

“This volunteer event helped me realize how much work goes into the preparation ahead of a school year,” says Lead Administrative Assistant Helen Holland. “We could see how appreciative the teachers were of our hard work. By cleaning up the classrooms and the building, the teachers were able to shift their focus to curriculum planning. Education is crucial and helping to ensure these students have a smooth transition back into the classroom was important to us.”

Last summer, roughly 30 Atlanta-based BDO professionals braved the heat to work with C.H.O.I.C.E.S. Mobile Food Pantry, staging areas as cars passed through to collect food donations. Volunteers set up tables, packed food and moved donations to the cars to distribute food to around 400 families. 

Said Assurance Director Justin Castagnacci: “I was really impressed with everyone working together to help these families. Even though our event took place outside in the summer in Atlanta, our professionals also managed to use this time to connect with each other and make the experience worthwhile on so many levels.”

The Norfolk office was recognized for its work with the Elizabeth River Trail Foundation. Volunteers picked up trash, pulled weeds and did various beautification tasks along the trail, which is a vital part of the Norfolk community, as it connects popular neighborhoods to one another. With the trail running through downtown, where the BDO office is located, our professionals frequent the trail to take short breaks or use it to walk, bike or run. In just one day, 54 volunteers cleared 250 pounds of debris and litter while also removing 350 pounds of old garden netting from the Water Street Open Space. 

Said Lead Office Assistant Alyssa Villa: “The beautification of the Elizabeth River Trail was a wonderful opportunity to give back to the downtown Norfolk community. The trail offers a beautiful escape from the busy atmosphere of downtown and is cherished by many employees. By combating pollution and preserving this natural space, we help keep downtown beautiful for everyone to enjoy. I enjoyed taking a break from the office to spend the day with my peers, getting our hands dirty picking up litter and pulling weeds. It was also a fantastic team-building experience, strengthening our bonds as we worked together towards a common goal.”