GCI is an Alaska born and raised telecommunications company, providing data, mobile, video, voice and managed services to consumer and business customers throughout Alaska for 40 years. GCI employs close to 2,000 Alaskans. Because GCI is Alaska born and raised, giving back to the community is an important part of our company values. Over the past five years, GCI has donated more than $10 million in cash, products, scholarships, and grants to Alaska organizations. GCI also provides employees with 16 hours of paid leave each year to volunteer with local organizations. GCI has a rich history of giving throughout Alaska and has a strong partnership with Covenant House Alaska.
Two current Covenant House Alaska board members are GCI employees. Maureen Moore has been a generous Board Member for almost 15 years. She has served meals at the holidays with her family, and is the go-to board member whenever a donation is needed for the youth at Covenant House. She has personally delivered anything needed from bacon to ear buds for the kids at Covenant House. Kate Slyker has been a long-time supporter of Covenant House even before she became a board member—she started volunteering at Covenant House when she was only 16 years old, starting out in a teen volunteer group effort. Now, she engages her family during the Christmas season to buy gifts for the youth, wrap dozens of gifts and help CHA prepare for the holidays in any way they need. She, her parents, brothers, sisters and kids have all come to serve dinner on Thanksgiving and Christmas for a number of years. She was also Board Chair during the $24 million Capital Campaign to build and open the new facility at 755 A Steet, our current Youth Engagement Center. We have also had a past Board Member from GCI who is now retired, Tony Lewkowski.
Maureen Moore, Kate Slyker and Paul Landes, GCI President, have all participated in Sleep Out: Executive Edition to raise money for Covey youth for many years. Paul Landes was the Chair for Sleep Out: Executive Edition in 2018 and 2019, rallying Sleep Out Champions to raise $1 million each year. Several GCI employees have volunteered for Covenant House Alaska’s youth in various ways. Michael Schmidt, Amanda Prasil and Katie Carrigan have all participated in Young Professionals Sleepout. GCI has been a steady and constant sponsor of our events including Candlelight Vigil, Sleepout, Passage House Luncheon, and Don Fridley Memorial Golf Tournament. Each Christmas for the past several years, they have participated in our Adopt-a-Day program and come in to the Youth Engagement Center to provide meals for the youth and play BINGO for great tech prizes.
In times of need, GCI is always happy and eager to provide whatever may help us. During the hunker down order, they donated telecom services and PSA and social media support. Their employees have coordinated clothing donation drives, they’ve donated door prizes for special events, and so much more. “Youth are extremely important to the future of Alaska, and Covenant House provides a safe haven and opportunity for the vulnerable youth in our community who deserve love and a chance at success,” Kate Slyker explains why GCI is such a strong supporter of Covenant House Alaska. GCI always reaches out to us to see if we need anything, to check on us just like a good neighbor would. And for that, we are forever grateful.
If your organization would like to know more about how to become a cornerstone sponsor of Covenant House Alaska, please contact Director of Development, Joe Hemphill, at jhemphill@covenanthouseak.org.
