We would love to hear from you. Click on the ‘Contact Us’ link to the right and choose your favorite way to reach-out!

wscdsdc

media/speaking contact

Jamie Johnson

business contact

Victoria Peterson

Contact Us

855.ask.wink

Close [x]
pattern

Industry News

Categories

  • Industry Articles (21,155)
  • Industry Conferences (2)
  • Industry Job Openings (35)
  • Moore on the Market (414)
  • Negative Media (144)
  • Positive Media (73)
  • Sheryl's Articles (800)
  • Wink's Articles (353)
  • Wink's Inside Story (274)
  • Wink's Press Releases (123)
  • Blog Archives

  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • August 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • November 2008
  • September 2008
  • May 2008
  • February 2008
  • August 2006
  • How MetLife Technologists Help Kids Go Tech

    November 9, 2015 by Sharon Goldman

    It’s been just two years since MetLife opened its global technology and operations offices in Cary, North Carolina, a Raleigh suburb that is part of the famed research Triangle area and now boasts a $125 million campus. But the company’s employees, from infrastructure engineers and software scientists to programmers, project managers and administrators, have already made their “geek” presence known by giving back to the local community.

    Last weekend, about 250 MetLife volunteers took part in the campus’s second-annual “Geek-A-Thon,” which is a partnership with the Kramden Institute, a local nonprofit that provides technology tools and training to thousands of North Carolina schoolchildren without access to computer technology in their homes. The tech-expert employee volunteers refurbished a record-breaking 400 computers in one weekend — one-quarter of which were immediately given to North Carolina students, whose “new” desktops were loaded with an Ubermix operating system and the latest educational software. The rest of the computers went to the Kramden Institute to be donated as needed.

    The volunteers enjoy Geek-A-Thon “immensely,” says Geoff Lang, VP & General manager of global technology & operations at MetLife in Cary, North Carolina, who adds that the event grew out of a volunteer effort one employee began with Kramden in 2013. “So much of what goes on in technology is extremely specific — it’s hard to see the end result of doing something,” he explains. “With this, they are in it from start to finish, so they get to see something completed. That is particularly rewarding since very disadvantaged children get the benefit.”

    The MetLife Foundation supports the Geek-A-Thon with a $25,000 grant and the event is hosted on-site at MetLife’s new Global Technology Campus. Area teachers nominate the students they believe would benefit the most — in fact, half of the students who received the refurbished computers are children of veterans and active service members in North Carolina.

    The Geek-A-Thon runs like an assembly line, Lang explains, so that employees with every sort of technology position and technical skill can participate efficiently. “There’s something for everybody,” he says. “We have some volunteers that clean the equipment, others that take apart the hard drive. Software engineers upload free operating systems and then we have the people doing the testing. It’s like building a car.”

    Once the computers are refurbished, however, it’s all about some fun and games. Rather than simply receiving a computer delivery, families that come to collect their new computers on the MetLife campus’s Great Lawn are greeted by games — including sack races — as well as a deejay and even Snoopy. They also get hands-on training from a MetLife employee as well as a chance to try out a variety of new educational software choices.

    Those good times are purposefully meant for more than just the child receiving the new computer. “We try to make it more than just about the individual getting the PC,” says Lang. “After all, if one child is getting something, we don’t want their siblings or cousins that come along to be left out. This way, one person is getting something but everyone gets to have fun.”

    MetLife plans to continue the Geek-A-Thon as part of an overall commitment to give back to the Triangle community, Lang adds. It is, in fact, just one of several technology-focused activities that the Cary campus is engaged with, including mentoring high-school students through NC First Robotics, an organization created to inspire youth in North Carolina to pursue further studies and careers in science and technology.

    “It’s phenomenal to let our associates come together to work in teams towards sharing their skills with community children — it’s incredibly rewarding,” says Lang. “The Raleigh and Cary Chambers of Commerce are excited about our willingness to get engaged.”

    That doesn’t mean the MetLife volunteers have “geek” superpowers, however. While volunteers refurbished more computers at this year’s Geek-A-Thon than last year, and they plan to break their own record next year, there are limits, says Lang: “You start to ask yourself, ‘Why don’t we do 1000?’ — but the logistics get really hard.”

    Originally Posted at Insurance Networking News on October 29, 2015 by Sharon Goldman.

    Categories: Industry Articles
    currency