NetEnrich, Heartland Technology Partner on Tornado Relief

Every once in a while we hear about partnerships between two IT companies that have nothing to do with technology, yet those partnerships leave a lasting impression on the technology space at large. Such is the case with IT services vendor NetEnrich and solution provider Heartland Technology Solutions, which have paired to help out the victims of the devastating tornado that hit the Joplin, Mo., area in May 2011.

Jane Cage, COO, of Heartland Technology Solutions, is a staunch supporter of the Joplin, Mo., Habitat for Humanity and has been raising funds for the group since the tornado ripped through the town, leveling 4,000 homes in the process.

Cage explains a bit of the strategy in this MSPmentor FastChat Video:

“Justin [Crotty, senior vice president and general manager at NetEnrich] and I have been friends for a long time and we were at the [Ingram Micro] VTN (VentureTech Network) meeting in Las Vegas a few months ago, and … he and I were talking about what was going on,” she said. “We have a tremendous need for housing … so when Justin heard that he made an incredible offer, which was to take a portion of the proceeds from VTN members and donate those back to Joplin for Habitat for Humanity. It is outstanding.”

Indeed, NetEnrich said it will donate 5 percent of revenue generated through VTN members between Oct. 1, 2011 and March 31, 2012, to the Joplin, Mo., chapter of Habitat for Humanity.

NetEnrich and Heartland Technology have a business relationship as well — Heartland uses NetEnrich’s “Closet to Cloud” services for remote IT infrastructure management and enterprise IT operations as it ramps up its presence in the managed services space. “We were looking for a solution that was more scalable that what we were able to do on our own,” Cage said of her company’s decision to work with NetEnrich. “We’ve worked with them in the onboarding process to smooth that out and speed that up for both of us, so that’s been a good thing. They’ve been very responsive to our needs.”

But it was NetEnrich’s decision to hand over a portion of its sales to Habitat that put a smile on Cage’s face. “It is outstanding,”  she said.

Non-VTN members also are welcome to help out the Joplin tornado victims by donating on the Joplin, Mo., Habitat for Humanity website, Cage noted, and asked those who donate on the site to write “Jane’s House” in the special instructions box. “Habitat is keeping a tally for me to see how well we are doing,”

She noted also Habitat has a need for volunteers to help with the building. “If you want to come to Joplin and help we would love to have you volunteer. You can come and actually swing a hammer, use a paintbrush, learn how to saw — and maybe you’ll learn a new skill for later in life.

“I’ve never been a fundraiser but it’s easy to raise funds in this case,” she added.