AboutWeb is dedicated to serving and providing for our community through various avenues. In addition to working to help build and support our local community, we are very committed to running an ethical work environment and contributing to the greater technical community.
Economic Empowerment
AboutWeb takes pride in locating its offices in areas where we can have a direct, positive impact on the local population. Our Gaithersburg, MD and office is located in an area where the population has experienced economic challenges. One of our goals is to empower individuals in these areas through training and on- the-job experience through our AboutWeb Cares program to improve their skills and help our company grow at the same time.
Tech Community
AboutWeb brings its passion for cutting-edge technologies and concepts to the community through user groups. In the past, members of our solutions team have hosted groups in mobile development, Adobe LiveCycle, and ColdFusion. Our current ongoing group in cybersecurity has grown its monthly meeting to 50+ in-person attendees, with more attending virtually. Topics include cyber security law, password cracking, threat analysis, and active and passive information gathering.
AboutWeb also hosted RIAcon for two years, a conference serving architects and developers on the topic of web-based applications. This conference featured discussions and technical sessions on the cutting edge of Internet application development, and since that time members of our solutions team have spoken at other conferences and user groups. Through these events, AboutWeb places an emphasis on education and maintains a voice in the tech community.
Charities
AboutWeb is committed to serving numerous community outreach organizations that offer a diverse array of social services to adults and children residing in neighboring communities. In the midst of economic downturn, AboutWeb is proud to engage its employees in the company’s Innovative Giving Program. In an effort to give back to the community, AboutWeb empowers employees at each of its office locations to choose a local community charity to support during the holiday season. The company allocates funds for each chosen organization, and employees personally deliver donations to these charities. Charities we have partnered with for this program include:
- Manna Food Center (Rockville)
- Marian House (Baltimore)
- Helping Up Mission (Baltimore)
- Salvation Army (Baltimore)
- United Community Ministries (Virginia)
- Second Story (Formerly: The Alternative House) (Virginia)
- Liberty Family Resource Center (Baltimore)
Manna Food Center
AboutWeb’s Gaithersburg office has maintained a relationship with Manna Food Center since 2009. For the past ten years, employees of this location have used their funds to buy a surplus of canned food at Costco to deliver to the Manna Food Center in Rockville. Every employee takes part in some way. Here at AboutWeb, we understand that giving back is an action that must be done year round, and we take that sense of duty very seriously.
Most Valuable Kids
AboutWeb works with Most Valuable Kids, an organization whose mission is to give an incomparable reward system for children that show consummate behavior and community service. This program gives athletic and entertainment tickets to children in hopes of furthering the development of self-esteem and establish a deeper understanding of the benefits of determination and hard work throughout their childhood.
We have donated numerous basketball tickets to offer these children an opportunity to see college and professional games.
As a company that values charity, these programs offer opportunities for AboutWeb to contribute to its local communities and fosters a sense of civic responsibility among its employees.
Other Organizations We Work Closely With:
- American Heart Association
- American Cancer Society
- Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
- Everybody Wins! DC
- Children’s Hospital
- American Diabetes Association
- Living Classrooms
- Year Up Baltimore
Green Initiatives
AboutWeb has championed green efforts, both day to day in our offices as well as through IT projects with our partners. During our ongoing relationship with NIST, we worked to consolidate 11 of the organization’s Oracle servers down to one machine. AboutWeb coordinated with 11 different agencies while working with NIST’s Virtual Library, and the result saved 90% of energy usages. This project reduced energy costs and physical space while making the system faster and more reliable.
Likewise, in our own offices, AboutWeb has taken many steps to reduce our carbon footprint. We have considerably reduced the number of our own physical servers using VMware, and we have reduced physical waste via cloud computing and collaboration software. Our offices utilize a number of energy-reducing tactics including turning off lights and machines and programming thermostats to change based on temperature and office hours. Each location recycles and provides an open forum to brainstorm further ways to conduct a greener business.