Supporter Spotlight: Chegg Inc.

“Everything is figureoutable” is a common theme at Chegg, a publicly traded online education company, providing textbook rentals, online tutoring, and other student services primarily for high school and college students. “We put students first, helping them with easy, affordable access to the tools and textbooks they need to succeed,” Communications Associate, Devonya Batiste, shared.

When one of the company’s Employee Resource Groups, Umoja Para Todos, went looking for a volunteer project, 826 Valencia was a natural. Umoja (which means “unity” in Swahili) Para Todos is a group of nearly 50 Chegg staffers interested in community, creating connections and giving back.

Members of the group volunteered at the Tenderloin Center for a podcasting field trip last year and were moved by the experience—especially the “finished product” of individual podcasts that were later uploaded and shared with tutors via Soundcloud. Since Chegg offers 40 hours/year of paid volunteering and flexible work hours, the team knew they’d be back–but then the pandemic hit.

Looking for other ways to deepen their commitment, the group leaned on their company culture of diversity, service, and access to raise funds—including employee gift matching—for Black Lives Matter initiatives as well as front-line food security and job loss prevention and assistance programs. They also circled back to 826 Valencia with a gift of $10,000!

We are so grateful to Chegg and Umoja Para Todos for supporting our students and our work. As Nathan Schultz, President of Learning Services, told us “We know that writing is one of the most powerful learning tools we have. It makes a lot of sense for us to support 826 Valencia.”