If you pop in the side door of Firespring’s Lincoln office, you’ll be immediately met by a wave and a smile from Mikaela Shybut. She’s one of our amazing account managers, and her positivity radiates to team members, clients and everyone she meets.
At Firespring, she communicates between clients and our teams to make sure projects get done on time and according to the clients’ needs. Mikaela keeps clients in the loop as their projects progress and is a listening ear for any questions or ideas our clients may have. Lately, she’s been coordinating work for our print team and is also taking on projects in creative marketing and web development.
Basically, Mikaela is a client advocate and project facilitator who supports our clients with kindness and care. And she just rocks. Her caring nature extends beyond work too—she has been a devoted volunteer for years.
Firespring’s Power of 3 program encourages all team members to volunteer at least 3 percent of their time to causes they care about. That’s around eight hours a month dedicated to serving others. And Mikaela was already a regular volunteer at the People’s City Mission before she even applied to work at Firespring.
“I served meals at the People’s City Mission for years,” Mikaela said. “I love what the Mission stands for, and it’s so rewarding to see how appreciative everyone is to get a hot meal.”
The People’s City Mission is a Lincoln-based shelter for those experiencing homelessness and a place for people and families in poverty to find resources like food, clothing, furniture and medical care. They have multiple volunteer opportunities across their facilities, including the chance to serve hot meals.
“When you volunteer to serve meals, you get to work alongside people who are using the Mission’s services and hear their stories,” Mikaela said. “You meet the most inspiring people there, and I’ve been fortunate enough to get to know some of their team well over the years.”
Unfortunately, the pandemic limited the People’s City Mission’s capacity for volunteers and Mikaela has not been able to serve there in a while. When conditions improve, however, Mikaela wants to go back to the Mission and bring plenty of Firespringers with her.
A pandemic can’t stop Mikaela’s drive to give back though. She and her husband Nick, a fellow Firespringer, found a new chance to share kindness and bring joy into their lives by fostering a puppy for the first time.
They recently adopted two dogs, Nash and Bart, and were interested in giving a foster pup a home for a while. That’s when they found out about Shiloh at Revolution Rescue.
“We had Shiloh for a few weeks to decide if he was the right fit for our family,” Mikaela said. “Dogs are our lives, and we want to give some of them a good life that may not have had a home otherwise.”
Shiloh quickly became best pals with Nash and Bart, and the Shybuts adopted him in January 2021.
We love seeing how our Firespring teammates are finding ways to do good throughout the pandemic, and we’re inspired by Mikaela’s continuous kindness and joy. We look forward to joining Mikaela at the People’s City Mission again soon.