Aldrich’s culture is one of service and selflessness, and we consider it an honor to be stewards of the communities we serve. We draw inspiration from local leaders, and seek opportunities to learn from our network and community.

For this reason, John Lauseng, Aldrich CEO + Partner, invited Beach Pace, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Columbia Northwest, to join a recent internal Aldrich all-hands meeting to discuss serving in our communities. A Portland Business Journal 2024 Executive of the Year, Beach shared how a single person can impact their community for good. Aldrich all-hands meetings are a regular and valuable touchpoint with our people.

Big Brothers Big Sisters is one of the largest donor- and volunteer-supported mentoring network organizations in the United States. An adult mentor—known as a Big—is matched with a youth mentee—a Little. Through everyday activities, such as doing homework, playing games, or seeing a movie, Bigs and Littles form friendships that empower the youth to fulfill their potential.

Beach: When I was working in corporate sales and marketing, I was volunteering. However, I felt like I had a higher calling and wanted to make it more than just volunteer time.

A friend of mine recommended the social impact sector. My initial reaction wasn’t great—I didn’t think I was for it.

Then she shared her experience of how she and her team secured housing for 100,000 people. That’s a real difference she made in the lives of those people. And that’s what spoke to me.

How could I be a part of a team that changes the trajectory or the life of a person who needs a little help?

Beach: Oregon’s high school graduation rate is 81%—for Big Brothers Big Sisters participants, it’s 95%. They also have better grades and better attendance. They’re more active in the community and will take leadership roles in the community.

One mentee from our program had a father who was incarcerated for much of this boy’s life. But he graduated high school on time, earned a degree from the University of Oregon, and now works in the Portland metro area.

Statistically, this boy was not on that track. But thanks to his mentor’s intervention and the youth’s own desire to change, he’s living a very different life.

Beach: The mentors come back to me transformed. They often realize they had no idea what was happening in their community or what the youth were dealing with, whether good or bad. They’re so glad they could be in this young person’s life.

This is the number one thing I hear: “I’ve learned so much from my mentee.” That resonates with me, because if you’re open to learning 360, you will grow.

Beach: In a broad sense, ask yourself where you want to volunteer and what impact you want to make. What do you get upset about, or what do you get fired up about? And then ask yourself how you can make space for that. If being a mentor with Big Brothers Big Sisters speaks to you then you can apply here and serve almost anywhere nationwide.

At Aldrich, our purpose is to improve the lives of our people, our clients, and our communities. Through our financial advisory and audit services, we empower our nonprofit clients to achieve their financial and mission-based goals. Internally, our annual Aldrich Action Day unites employees firmwide in a day of service. Our people are also given 16 hours of paid volunteer time annually.

Read more about our community involvement here.