Teleservices company founder recognized by ATA for commitment to philanthropy
The ATA, a non-profit trade association that represents over 4,000 contact centers and 1.8 million professionals worldwide, presents the award each year to the member who best exemplifies the spirit of philanthropy by inspiring his/her company to commitment and involvement in the community through contributions of service, time, leadership and/or monetary donations.
Since establishing AnswerNet in 1998, Pudles has lent his energy, enthusiasm and expertise to support numerous industry charity initiatives, including breast cancer awareness events that have raised over $140,000. As AnswerNet grew as a company, Pudles focused on his desire to give back to the over 50 communities where AnswerNet owns and operates its contact centers.
After researching several possible solutions, Pudles teamed up with a national foundation, New York-based FJC (www.fjc.org), which specializes in charitable giving programs. The result was the establishment of a Donor Advised Funds program, funded by The Pudles Family Fund, which became AnswerNet Cares. The goal of AnswerNet Cares is to encourage AnswerNet employees to participate in the communities where they live and work, not just in the community where the corporate office is located. AnswerNet Cares gives donations for as many as 20 employee-driven charitable efforts per year and allows AnswerNet to actively support the many causes that are important to its employees.
“The unique structure of our company, where we operate in many diverse areas of North America, is what steered me in the direction of what eventually became the AnswerNet Cares program,” explains Pudles. “A large part of our success is in our ability to offer local services nationally and national services locally. We wanted to bring that same feeling of ‘we’re in this together’ to any foundation or charity initiative we presented to our employees. AnswerNet Cares enables our employees to become actively involved in a cause they are passionate about while receiving support in the form of donations from AnswerNet and the volunteering of time from their fellow employees.”
About AnswerNet:
As the world’s largest telemessaging firm, AnswerNet (www.answernet.com) provides full service inbound, outbound and e-bound contact center and fulfillment solutions. AnswerNet operates over 50 contact centers within the continental United States and Canada , providing a vast range of systems to optimize order entry, telephone answering services, sales, lead qualifications, market research and other contact management solutions for a client base of over 35,000. Processing over 60 million contacts annually, AnswerNet has been recognized for a number of awards, including Inc. Magazine’s Annual “Inc. 500” List of Fastest Growing Private Companies and Customer Inter@ction Solutions magazine’s Top 50 Teleservices Firms.
About the American Teleservices Association:
The American Teleservices Association (ATA) is the only non-profit trade organization dedicated exclusively to the advancement of companies that utilize contact centers as an integral channel of operations. ATA members include companies with inbound or outbound contact centers, users of Teleservices, trainers, consultants, and equipment suppliers who initiate, facilitate, and generate telephone, Internet, and e-mail sales, service, and support.
Founded in 1983, the American Teleservices Association (ATA) represents more than 4,000 contact centers that account for over 1.8 million professionals worldwide. Contact centers offer traditional and interactive services that support the e-commerce revolution, provide specialized customer service for Fortune 500 companies, and generate annual sales of more than $900 billion.
About FJC:
FJC is a public charity that provides total management of charitable giving. Over 1000 FJC Donor Advised Funds have been established, with individual and corporate funds starting at $5,000 and our unique Young Philanthropist Funds, starting at $1,800. To date, over $100,000,000 in grants have been made to charities in the
# # #