Community

In January, our NIKA DC team volunteered for cleanup duty in support of Wreaths Across America at the Arlington National Cemetery. As one of the largest veteran cemeteries in the U.S. with over 200,000 graves, our team, and members of our local community were able to clear off wreaths within the hour! Way to GSD NIKA DC! Thank you to our team members who spent their Saturday honoring our fallen service men and women.

To close the holiday season of giving, our NIKA DC and San Antonio offices collectively donated over 500 lbs. of non-perishable items for the Manna Food Center and the San Antonio Food Bank. The Manna Food Center directly supports over 45,000 Montgomery County, MD residents while the San Antonio Food Bank serves 29 counties in the Southwest Texas area. We’re proud to continue our annual food drive to support two great organizations.

For over a decade, NIKA has collected toys for the United States Marine Corps Reserve, Toys for Tots program. In 2022, we continued our partnership with gifted toys from our NIKA DC office along with a $1,000 company donation. Nice work NIKA DC, your contributions have certainly spread holiday cheer!

Our NIKA MoBros grew out their ‘staches for 30 consecutive days to support the Movember movement, which raises awareness for men’s physical and mental health issues. Another year, another successful Movember in the books! Congratulations to all the brave men who participated throughout November in support of Men’s Health. On behalf of our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners of best beard/mustache, NIKA donated $3,000 to the Movember Foundation. Great job gentlemen!

Our executive and management team represented NIKA at the Fisher House, Inc.’s 16th Annual Golf Tournament at the beautiful Fair Oaks Ranch Golf & Country Club in Boerne, Texas. This tournament directly benefits military members, veterans, and their families receiving medical treatment while staying at the Fisher Houses in San Antonio, TX. In our second-year sponsoring Fisher House, Inc.’s Golf Tournament, 180 golfers came out to play in the beautiful Texas weather. We proudly support Fisher House Inc.’s mission to help provide services for a home away from home for military families in medical need.

In our first year partnering with the Marine Corps Marathon (MCM), NIKA sponsored 7 runners who took on the 10k or 50k run at the 47th Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, VA, and the nation’s capital! In addition, NIKA exhibited at the MCM finish festival with replenishing treats, cornhole, and running gear for the event goers. Managed by the U.S. Marines Corps, MCM is one of the largest marathons in the U.S. and the world with 30,000 registrants each year. Our NIKA team members, friends, and family ran with purpose and finished with pride!

In 2022, our team members and friends helped NIKA raise over $16,000 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer awareness and research. This was our 5th consecutive year supporting this great cause. Since 2017, we have donated over $100k and have placed second in the nation as the top fundraising team! This initiative means a lot to us, and we’re grateful to everyone who donated to prevent and end breast cancer!

Fueled with adrenaline and focus, our NIKA DC team along with friends, pulled a 45-ton United 737 plane in 6.5 seconds at the 2022 Dulles Plane Pull! Hosted by the Special Olympics of Virginia, Inc., this event supports their mission to provide athletes access to quality health care and promote the importance of equitable health services. We not only beat our 2021 record and moved up to be one of the Top 10 Teams, but we also donated over $3,000 to support this great cause. Great Job NIKA DC!

Kicking off September, the NIKA San Antonio team volunteered for Feed My Starving Children, a non-profit that coordinates the packaging and distribution of food to people in developing nations. The team, along with government colleagues, volunteered to pack food bags for distribution to underserved and distressed areas throughout the world, with the current notable location being Ukraine. For two and a half hours, our team helped pack 397 boxes of food containing an estimated 85,752 meals and had a great time doing it! Exceptional work by our San Antonio team who continue to exemplify NIKA’s fundamental values and culture of collaboration, integrity, and, most of all, fun!

In July, NIKA held our annual summer back-to-school drive! This year, NIKA DC and NIKA San Antonio offices donated and delivered a total of 80 backpacks full of supplies for elementary students in Montgomery County, MD, and Regency Place Elementary School in San Antonio, TX. This yearly initiative means a lot to us and our community as we equip students with the tools, they need to have a successful year ahead! Thank you to everyone who made this year’s supply drive and delivery a success!

We kicked off Memorial Day weekend at our community service for Veterans Moving Forward (VMF). This nonprofit provides canine therapy services to veterans with physical and/or mental health challenges. To support their mission, we deep cleaned and sanitized the canine facility to ensure the VMF service dogs had a clean space to train and rest. We also had the opportunity to meet the pups, which we all agreed was our favorite part!

We are thankful for the servicemen and women who sacrificed a lot to make our country a safe place to live, and we’re honored to give back to them through Veterans Moving Forward.

The NIKA HQ team volunteered at the Habitat Rockville ReStore, a reuse store, and donation center operated by Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland (HFH Metro Maryland). The ReStore directly aids HFH Metro Maryland with funds from its sales to build and renovate affordable homes throughout Maryland. To support the ReStore’s success, our team spent their day sorting inventory, restocking the sales floor, pricing gently used and new items, and organizing the center.

We had lots of fun stepping into the world of retail and working alongside the Habitat Rockville Restore team! We’re proud to support HFH Metro Maryland and its mission to bring families and individuals one step closer to affordable living.

Our NIKA San Antonio office joined forces to donate items for the Roy Maas Youth Alternatives (RMYA), a therapeutic shelter who has served more than 83,000 children and families in 45-years end the cycle of abuse. To support RMYA’s efforts, the NIKA team donated bins overflowing with hygiene products, bedding sheets, and electronic items. Great work from our NIKA San Antonio team! Their efforts will help create brighter and healthy futures for children and families at RMYA!

The NIKA HQ office assembled and delivered move-in kits with household items to donate to the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless (MCCH). These kits will directly support 12 individuals who were once homeless fill their new homes! Thanks to Lynn Rose, MCCH’s Community Engagement Officer, who stopped by to share the positive impact of getting people out of the “quicksand” of homelessness.

We’re proud to collaborate with MCCH and create a community where everyone has a safe and affordable place to call home!

Our NIKA Team contributed in-kind and virtual donations towards The Children’s Inn at NIH, Inn Wish List. This drive helps support the children and their families during serious medical treatments and recovery by providing furnishings, daily supplies, non-perishable food, and more.

Along with providing non-perishable food items, our team donated over a thousand dollars in virtual donations followed by a company match! Way to go NIKA Team! Their donations will contribute to the support of families and children in need.

During the holiday season, NIKA donated wreaths to Wreaths Across America to honor our fallen U.S. veterans. In January, our NIKA DC team volunteered to remove the wreaths from headstones of over 400,000 veterans at the Arlington National Cemetery. We were honored to take the time to support and pay tribute to our great servicemen and women. Each year, we look forward to supporting this organization to remember, honor, and learn about our nation’s heroes.

During the Season of Giving, NIKA collaborated with The Marine Corps Reserve’s Toys for Tots Campaign. Our team donated lots of fun toys for children during the holiday season who are less fortunate. We were delighted to extend happiness to the youth in our communities and spread some holiday cheer!

A heartwarming thanks to our NIKA team who always go above and beyond in helping the communities in which we work and live.

Throughout the month of November, the gentlemen at NIKA, joined the Movember Foundation cause to raise awareness of men’s health issues by putting down their razors and growing out their best stash! Thanks to all the guys who grew ‘staches and beards in support of Men’s’ Health!

Congrats to our top three finalists, Sean Dalton, Ron Fraser, and Alok Kumar, who each had $1,000 donated in their name to the Movember Foundation.

The NIKA DC and San Antonio team collected can goods to donate to the Manna Food Center serving the Montgomery County, MD area and the San Antonio Food Bank. Collectively, we donated 13 boxes weighing 526 pounds! In addition, NIKA donated $2,500 to support both organizations’ efforts.

A heartfelt thanks to all the team members who donated! Your efforts supported local families with a delicious Thanksgiving meal!

NIKA’s Executive Leadership Team participated in the Fisher House, Inc. 2021 Golf Tournament at Fair Oaks Ranch Golf & Country Club in Boerne, Texas. This event directly supported the BAMC, South Texas VA, and Lackland Fisher Houses in San Antonio. As a Silver Sponsor for this event, NIKA is proud to support the Fisher House Inc.’s mission to help provide services for a home away from home for military families in medical need.

Our NIKA DC team participated in the 2021 Dulles Plane Pull at Dulles International Airport. We stepped up to the challenge to pull an 82-ton FedEx Airbus across the runway! Team NIKA landed on the Top 10 pull time at 8.82 seconds and on the Top 10 donors list! We had a great day giving back to support the Special Olympics of Virginia and their mission to provide year-round athletic competition for individuals with intellectual disabilities.

Our team had a wonderful time walking for the Hope for Three Second Annual Family Walk, Run, Stroll, or Roll. The event raises funds and awareness for children with Autism. NIKA is proud to increase awareness for this great cause that will foster an inclusive community for every child! Thank you to our team who took the time to participate!

To prepare students for the new academic year, our NIKA team spent early August preparing back to school kit drop-offs. Our team personally delivered the kits to the local schools just in time for the new year. Thanks to our awesome NIKA representatives who personally delivered the overflowing back to school kits!

To help students for the new academic year, our NIKA team spent early July donating school supplies and assembling back-to-school kits for students in Montgomery County Public Schools and Regency Place Elementary School in San Antonio, TX! The 60 overflowing back-to-school kits were loaded with notebooks, pens, colorful folders, and other essential supplies to kick off the new academic year with success!

NIKA is honored to have been a proud sponsor of the Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland, 16th Annual John Lippincott Golf Tournament. In June, our HQ team represented NIKA during the Golf Tournament at the beautiful Whiskey Creek Golf Club. This annual tournament brings thousands of dollars to help fund affordable housing throughout Maryland and is named after its top advocate, John Lippincott. It was a fun day filled with strategic golf moves alongside fantastic business leaders. NIKA is proud to have been a tournament sponsor and to continue our support for affordable housing.

NIKA donated over $8,000 towards The Wounded Warriors Project, which helps physically or mentally wounded Veterans transition back to their civilian life. Thank you to our team members who donated. Their gift will support life-changing programs that empower, employ, and engage America’s injured veterans. We salute and thank all the warriors who have fought and continue to fight for our freedom.

As a family-owned business, we value the importance of creating a lasting impact for our community today and for the future. Throughout the year, we support diverse programs including Housing programs like Habitat for Humanity. Every year we support this great cause by volunteering with hands-on workdays of home renovations, rehabilitation, and home demolitions. This year in light of social distancing, we continue to support by donating 30 pelican cases for Habitat for Humanity’s on-site contractors. This donation will help provide durable storage for the equipment needed to construct these homes. We look forward to getting our hands dirty and building these homes in person in the near future.

Our HQ office came together to support the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless, (MCCH). The MCCH helps individuals in the greater Montgomery County, MD area experiencing homelessness by providing them with their own residency. To help with this great cause, NIKA sponsored 15 move-in kits, which our team assembled the packages to be delivered to a total of five households! The kits will provide brand new bedding, kitchen supplies, bathroom décor, and more to help these individuals fill their new home. Thank you to our volunteers for joining together for a local cause.

Our team in San Antonio collected entertainment and household items for the Roy Maas Youth Alternatives (RMYA), a therapeutic support center and shelter in San Antonio for children in the foster care system. The team donated around $600 in goods and funds and NIKA matched that for a total of $1,200! Fantastic work accomplished despite the winter storm that effected the area in February. Thank you to the NIKA team, who contributed to cultivate a more calming world for the kids at Roy Maas Youth Alternatives!

In February, NIKA donated to The Children’s Inn at NIH, Inn Wish List. The Inn Wish List offers an array of most-needed items for the children recovering from serious illness and their families. In an effort to support this great organization, our team collectively donated non-perishable food items, household items, and entertainment goods. The boxes at HQ were overflowing with goodies, while our remote team purchased items from the Inn Wish List online registries. Thank you to everyone who contributed to the Inn Wish list to support the families and children in need!

Carrying on with our tradition, we donated four boxes along with a company match of $600 for the Toys for Tots initiative. This small gesture brought smiles to children in the greater Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area! We are proud to be able to support this wonderful cause. Thank you to all the employees who generously donated to help fill our bins.

This past November, staff members donated non-perishable canned foods towards our annual food drive. We packed six boxes of non-perishable most needed food items for our community. All donations were dropped off to the Manna Food Center in Gaithersburg, MD right in time for Thanksgiving! Thank you to all who donated and contributed. Special shout out to our team at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Shanda Avent, Naeem Brewington, Robert Gleich, Michael Cooper, Casey Frazier, and Gail Lazio-Xavier, who collaboratively donated $120 worth of food purchased from the Forest Glen Commissary! In total NIKA donated 285 pounds of food as well as $2,000 directly to Manna Food Bank

In October, NIKA donated a total of $11,141 to our annual Susan G. Komen fundraiser, which then NIKA matched employee donations for a new record total of $22,141! In addition, NIKA ranked top three on Susan G Komen’s company donor list during Breast Cancer Awareness Month. These donations have made a positive impact to those affected! Thank you to everyone who participated to help the fight against Breast Cancer

The staff at Sibley Memorial Hospital – Johns Hopkins Medicine in Washington, DC have been working tirelessly to support patients dealing with COVID-19. To thank them for their selfless acts, we partnered with José Andrés ThinkFoodGroup and Beefsteak to provide lunch to 100 frontline workers on May 5th, 2020. Through NIKA’s COVID-19 Support for Our Medical Community Program, we’re proud to have provided over 1,000 meals to medical workers at nine medical centers throughout the DMV area. We want to thank all the essential workers for their sacrifices and bravery. You are the true heroes and we’re grateful for all that you do!

Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC was among the first children’s hospitals in the nation to launch a drive-up COVID-19 specimen collection site. These caregivers provided support and smiles to the youngest members of our community affected by COVID-19. To support their efforts in the health and safety of our children, NIKA partnered with José Andrés ThinkFoodGroup and Dog Tag Bakery, Inc. to provide dinner and dessert to 100 frontline staff working the nightshift on May 4th, 2020. To all the medical and essential workers – we are grateful for your sacrifices!

As one of DC’s designated COVID-19 treatment facilities, Howard University Hospital is among the many medical facilities that rose to the challenge of combating #COVID19. Through NIKA’s COVID-19 Support for Our Medical Community Program, we partnered with José Andrés ThinkFoodGroup and Dog Tag Bakery, Inc. to provide breakfast and dessert to 100 hardworking frontline staff in Washington, DC on April 28th, 2020. From all of us at NIKA, we thank the medical workers for all that they sacrificed for the greater good.

MedStar Montgomery Medical Center in Olney, MD is one of the many hospitals in the DMV that are working hard to provide for patients battling #COVID19. As a thank you, NIKA partnered with José Andrés ThinkFoodGroup to provide lunch to over 200 medical workers on the frontline. Dessert was provided by Dog Tag Bakery, a DC-based organization that seeks to empower the lives of our veterans and military families.

We provided breakfast to medical teams working at Suburban Hospital – Johns Hopkins Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. As part of our COVID-19 Support for Our Medical Community Program, over 80 healthcare workers were given a hearty breakfast to give them the much-needed energy for their long shifts. Thanks to our partners at HUNGRY for providing local chef-prepared meals!

As one of the largest hospitals in Maryland, workers at Holy Cross Health in Silver Spring, MD are tirelessly pressing onward during this unfortunate pandemic. As part of NIKA’s COVID-19 Support for Our Medical Community Program, we partnered with HUNGRY to provide dinner to 80 frontline healthcare workers in the Emergency Department during the night shift to keep them energized and encouraged as they work around the clock to provide support.

As part of NIKA’s COVID-19 Support for Our Medical Community Program, we provided lunch to 180 healthcare workers on the front lines at the Adventist HealthCare, Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville, Maryland. NIKA partnered with HUNGRY to provide lunch to staff from the Intensive Care, Emergency, Physician, and Housekeeping departments.

Members of our NIKA team helped honor our fallen U.S. veterans by joining Wreaths Across America in gathering wreaths from headstones at Arlington National Cemetery. Each December, Wreaths Across America makes it their mission to remember and pay tribute to veterans by coordinating a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, as well as at more than 2,100 additional locations in all 50 U.S. states, at sea, and abroad. More than 15,000 volunteers showed up this year to help remove the holiday wreaths from over 250,000 headstones at Arlington National Cemetery. 

We’re proud to be able to support Toys For Tots this 2019 holiday season! One of the best things about the holidays is the ability to give back and put a smile on a child’s face – something that Toys for Tots successfully does each year for all children! Thanks to our employees who brought in gifts and thanks to Toys for Tots for the great work you are doing!

NIKA partnered with Manna Food Center in Gaithersburg, MD and the San Antonio Food Bank in San Antonio, TX to host a non-perishable food drive to give those in need access to safe and nutritious food. The NIKA staff in the DC area and our office in San Antonio collected over 1100 pounds of food to send to Manna ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday!

In November, brave NIKA men grew out their beards and mustaches in support of Mens Health awareness! On behalf of our 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners of best beard/mustache, NIKA donated a total of $4,500 to Movember, a charity changing the face of men’s health by focusing on prostate and testicular cancer research, as well as men’s mental health. Through this charity, we hope to help make a difference in changing the face of men’s health.

NIKA participated in #Pinktober in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month! In addition to weekly pink themed activities throughout the office to raise awareness, our employees from around the world have donated a record total of $10,000 to our annual Susan G. Komen fundraiser! NIKA then matched employee donations for a total of $20,000 donated!! 

NIKA staff members in our HQ and local offices spent the month of August collecting critical school supplies for kids in need at Montgomery County Public Schools. As part of our Community, Volunteer & Charity Program, NIKA representatives delivered an array of colorful backpacks overflowing with supplies to a local school in our area. A special thanks to all those who donated materials and volunteered their time to help kids grow and learn!

Throughout April, generous NIKA staffers donated new household goods to the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless in Rockville, MD and Haven for Hope in San Antonio, TX. Both of these outstanding community groups work to assist people experiencing homelessness get a new beginning, and we are glad to be able to support their important work!

NIKA volunteers from the DC region served a homestyle brunch to families undergoing serious medical treatment at NIH. This brunch allowed families to relax after their journey to the facility, alleviated the worry of preparing a meal, and gave them the opportunity to talk with other families in a similar position.

One of the best things about the holiday season is seeing the joy on a child’s face, and Toys for Tots works hard each year to make sure all kids experience it, regardless of income or circumstance. NIKA’s hard-working elves loaded six enormous boxes onto the Polar Express headed directly to Toys for Tots, who distributed the new, unwrapped toys to children of all ages in the DC Metro area.

NIKA gentlemen came together to support Movember, an annual event to raise awareness for men’s health issues. We had a hair-raising Movember, but we made it to the other side with a minimum of shaving and a maximum of spirit! NIKA donated a total of $3,600 to men’s health charities and other organizations on behalf of our contest participants.

For the fourth year in a row, NIKA partnered with Manna Food Center to host a nonperishable food drive ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. This year, NIKA HQ staff collected 926 lbs of food to be sent off to Manna to help feed those in need during the holiday season!

NIKA once again partnered with the Susan G. Komen Foundation to raise funds for breast cancer awareness and research. This year, NIKA staff donated a total of $7,531, which was matched by NIKA corporate for a total donation of $15,062! We also hosted a variety of “pink” themed activities, giveaways, and commemorations designed to raise awareness.

NIKA was excited to partner with Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland for the second year in a row to help build a better community. In September, two NIKA teams rolled up their sleeves to work with Habitat’s construction experts to renovate a home for a family in need.

The NIKA team partnered with Toys for Tots, a United States Marine Corps Reserve organization that distributes toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy gifts for the holidays. This year, we focused on kids’ bikes, large and small!

NIKA once again partnered with Manna Food Center to host a nonperishable food drive to increase access to safe, sufficient, nutritious food for those less fortunate in Montgomery County, MD. NIKA employees donated 400 pounds of food ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

In 2017, NIKA held our first “Movember” event to bring awareness to men’s health issues. We brought in a stylist who shaved NIKA participants for a fresh start on growing a mustache. NIKA employees voted for the “Best Mustaches” at the end of the month and NIKA made $5,500 in donations in the winners’ names.

In addition to wearing pink each Friday to show their support for breast cancer awareness, NIKA employees raised $5,370 for the Susan G. Komen Foundation and NIKA corporate donated an additional $5,000 for a total of $10,370.