#TechGivesBack: Silicon Valley Bank and OneEleven team up for the Toronto Public Library

OneEleven believes in impactful corporate partnerships. We’re interested in working with companies who are invested in helping our companies grow while building a sustainable, meaningful Toronto technology sector. Part of this work involves making sure the tech sector has a positive impact for the wider community. And so we were thrilled when our partner Silicon Valley Bank asked us to work with them on their first ever Canadian #TechGivesBack event. An annual corporate social responsibility initiative, SVB’s #TechGivesBack sees more than 3,000 volunteers give back to their favourite local projects in locations across the US, the United Kingdom and Israel during the first week of October. For our Canadian kick-off, SVB decided to work with the Toronto Public Library, the busiest urban public library system in the world, which sees more than 17.5 million visits to its 100 branches every year. On Oct. 8, 2019, volunteers from SVB, OneEleven and its member companies participated in the Library’s inaugural “Kits for a Cause” initiative, packing essential items including warm winter socks and toiletries to be distributed to vulnerable Toronto residents at TPL branches across the city. Each kit also included a note of encouragement written by our members. “It was nice to get together with our micro-community of OneEleven co-workers to do something for our wider city and those in need,” said Iara Rios, Community Success Manager at OneEleven member company Keyhole. Throughout the course of the day, volunteers from Blue J Legal, Boast AI, Diversio, FormHero, Fiix Mechanics, Keyhole, PolicyMe, Savvyy.ai, TOOLBX, and Zoom.ai packed 900 kits, joined by OneEleven team members, our amazing SVB partners and even Jennifer Jones, President of the Toronto Public Library Foundation. “At OneEleven, our ethos centres on the idea that we’re stronger together,” said Siri Agrell, OneEleven’s Executive Director. “Our companies benefit from leveraging each other’s expertise and networks and so do their employees. This #TechGivesBack initiative shows the positive impact we can have for our city as well, when we all work together.” #TechGivesBack is one element of SVB’s new partnership with OneEleven, which will also feature unique, co-presented events and regular office hours where member companies can access the bank’s internal expertise. “It was a privilege to volunteer alongside Toronto’s generous, kind, and talented tech community. We’re so grateful for our partnership with OneEleven, because, by combining our efforts, we see a real opportunity to serve our greater community through tech,” said Shelley Li, Vice President, Technology Banking at Silicon Valley Bank. “Thank you to OneEleven for bringing #TechGives back north of the border to Canada for the first time.”