Corporate Volunteer: Jabian Consulting
Apparo Program: Community Impact Projects
Interview with: Jacob Horr, Senior Manager
How did you first become engaged with Apparo?
My wife, Caroline, and I left Washington D.C. to move to the great city of Charlotte in 2016. At first, we were intimidated about leaving our large network and moving to a new city, but we immediately fell in love with the community focused nature of Charlotte. Given the large number of nonprofits in Charlotte, I found myself asking… “Where do I start?” Luckily, I soon learned about Apparo from a fellow coworker.
What do you enjoy most about volunteering for Apparo?
Apparo appealed to me for the same reason I love consulting. It provides me the opportunity to apply my professional expertise to multiple organizations and their wide range of challenges.
My first project was with Habitat Charlotte. I left that experience with new friends in the community, a sense of pride for the work we did, and huge appreciation for everything Habitat does to ensure people in Charlotte have a decent place to live.
Tell me one of your favorite experiences as an Apparo volunteer?
During my most recent project with Epiphany School of Charlotte, I had the opportunity to work with a fellow colleague and mentee, Dwayne. This project was a great opportunity for Dwayne and I to work together outside of our normal client engagements and for him to develop new skills.
I could not have been prouder of Dwayne as I watched him deliver the final presentation to the Board and when the Head of School stated, “I cannot put into words what I am feeling right now – I want to cry. This is something we needed for so long, but we just didn’t know where to start.”
Has volunteering with Apparo benefited you?
Both experiences not only made a huge impact to the nonprofits, but they provided value to myself and Jabian, by gaining experiences that will make me a better consultant. As a local consulting firm, Jabian wants to be a part of the fabric of our community and help it thrive.
