a community honors its philanthropic leaders
Jill Washington married Jon Schram in 1994, and two years later they founded an information technology consulting firm, RiverPoint. Now with annual revenues of over $5 million, 68 employees, and a Chicago office as well as one in Overland Park, theirs is a great growth story that shows no signs of an unhappy ending, perhaps because they actually live their corporate slogan, "Better People, Better Solutions."
When Jill and Jon see a problem, either in business or at home, they resolve it quickly. To get "better people," they created a true employee focused environment with both flexibility and consistency.
Their "better solutions" concept came into personal play when Jill's sister, Becky Alfred, then a pediatric resident, convinced them that instead of traditional corporate gifts for their clients, they should contribute to Truman Medical Center to help new parents care for their children's safety. Alfred had seen many parents take home brand new babies in dilapidated or unsafe car seats - or none at all. The solution was obvious to the Schrams. They would create a program with Truman and fund it --since 80% of the moms at Truman are on Medicaid, an $80 car seat is an expensive proposition. So far, the program has made more than 300 kids safer with brand new car seats.
The Schrams have been sponsoring the program since 1999. It has grown, just like their company, into more than they anticipated: drive-through child car seat safety checkpoints and educational workshops for expectant moms.
The couple also works with other organizations like Don Bosco and the Habitat for Humanity - this year the Schrams are sponsoring the Habitat's annual run/walk on May 12th. They're also founding members of the Open Door Education Foundation, which grants scholarships to enable college students to pursue technical education.
The two are pleased that a high percentage of their employees work with them on their charitable endeavors. "It makes us all feel good about our company and our community, " says Jon Schram. "It's about being good citizens. And it's the right thing to do."