Dale Beaumont and Kody Thompson have long believed that business should create a positive impact beyond the people it directly serves.
Since 2013, as more of their team and operations became based in the Philippines, they felt it was important to give back there as well. They continued supporting causes in Thailand, but they also wanted to build a stronger connection with the communities where so many WrkPod team members live and work.
That led to an ongoing relationship with Canghatap Elementary School, a remote and underfunded school in Negros Oriental.
Kody was the driving force behind the initiative, and together with Dale and the wider WrkPod team, the support has continued year after year. The approach is simple: stay close to the school, ask what is needed most, and then help provide it.
Over the years, that has included school supplies, raincoats, shoes, meals and other essentials. On one visit, the team delivered 220 pairs of shoes to students, some of whom were walking long distances to school and, in some cases, carrying their shoes so they would last longer.
On another visit, WrkPod provided more than 100 meals for the children and teachers. As the team was leaving, they noticed some children carrying their food home. The teachers explained that many had chosen not to eat their meals because they wanted to share them with their families later.
Moments like that have stayed with everyone involved.
What has made the initiative even more special is that it has become something the wider WrkPod community participates in. Many WrkPod staff are based in the Philippines, and team members have helped organise visits, deliver supplies, prepare meals and personally take part in supporting the school.
So this is not just something Dale and Kody support from a distance. It has grown into a community effort, with WrkPod and its people coming together to help where they can.
Today, the relationship with Canghatap Elementary School continues. WrkPod stays in touch with the school, finds out what support would make the biggest difference, and then works with the team to deliver it.
For Dale, Kody and the wider WrkPod team, it is a simple expression of an important belief: when a business grows within a community, it should look for ways to give something back to that community too.
