Waterloo software company OpenText donates $100K to local food bank

OpenText has donated $100,000 to The Food Bank of Waterloo Region as part of CBC Kitchener-Waterloo's Sounds of the Season campaign.

The campaign raises food and funds for the food bank throughout the month of December.

An executive with the Waterloo-based software company made the announcement on CBC K-W's The Morning Edition on Friday.

James McGourlay said the company is making donations to 60 food banks in the countries in which the firm operates — and he said it's important to give back to the communities where its workers live. The donation follows similar ones made in 2020.

"The first thing that we're focused on is food insecurity. And you know, this is especially important this year as we're continuing to go through the pandemic," he said.

Last fall, the company set up what it calls the navigator fund using money that had been earmarked for holiday parties, which then had to be cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions. As part of the fund, employees made donations and then OpenText topped up the total to $100,000 for Waterloo employees.

There are approximately 2,000 employees in the Waterloo office and McGourlay says another issue they want to focus on people who are experiencing homelessness, a growing concern in the region.

The pandemic has been a challenge for many companies, but McGourlay says OpenText's software has helped other businesses pivot to remote work successfully. It means the company plans to continue to hire, including at its Waterloo office.

That, in turn, will be good for the community, he says.

"When we're doing good, we want to do good with our results and make sure that we're spreading that into the communities that we work in," he said.

LISTEN | OpenText's James McGourlay talks about donating money to the food bank this year.