Social Responsibility

Resilient Stories from our Prosperity Hub Program: Meet Sarah

For Sarah, growing up in Wise, Virginia was a blessing. With its natural beauty and close-knit community, it was an ideal place for families to make a life. So when she became a mother herself, she wanted to pass the experience on to her own children. But then change came to the once-thriving coal-mining community.

Written by Intuit Blog team
Published Jun 7, 2021 - [Updated Jul 21, 2021]
3 min read

But then change came to the once-thriving coal-mining community. First, many industry-related jobs went away, then the people started to follow. Many who stayed found themselves struggling to pay their bills and feed their families due to the lack of economic opportunities. Sarah and her family were among them, especially after her husband was laid off from his coal-industry job.

Then Sarah applied for a customer care job with Sykes Enterprises, supporting Intuit’s customers through our Prosperity Hub program. Launched in 2016, the program helps communities in need by creating jobs, preparing people for jobs of the future, and equipping entrepreneurs to start and build successful businesses. As of last fall, the program had generated 2,300 jobs and $123 million of annual economic contribution to communities in need.

Our Prosperity Hubs span the United States, Canada and Britain, and create jobs that allow partner Prosperity Hub employees to support their families and the communities in which they live. Customer success jobs created in partnership with customer service partner companies including Alorica, Concentrix, Sitel and Sykes Enterprises, help Intuit customers get the most out of Intuit’s products and services. About one-third of the jobs are permanently virtual and designed for people in military communities, who must often relocate, and people with varying abilities. The benefits are many — from making a difference in individual lives to sparking economic growth to boosting resilience for communities like Wise.

When Sarah got the job she was thrilled. “I was excited to get started, excited to learn,” she says. “It was a new adventure for me.”

With no accounting or call-center background, she found the role challenging, but she got plenty of support from her peers, her management team and from Intuit’s product and skills training programs. She felt accepted and appreciated in a workplace that was diverse and family-oriented. Even better, the job opportunity turned into a career. In just over four years, Sarah has been promoted twice and today is a senior team lead. She feels a sense of pride in helping support her family and being a role model to her kids.

And it’s not just Sarah’s life that’s been transformed. Intuit’s Prosperity Hub is bringing jobs and people back to Wise. When Sarah started the job, she was one of about 40 team members. Today that number has grown to about 800. The community is growing. There’s more prosperity, more businesses, and more people raising their families there.

Best of all for Sarah, the job means she and her family no longer need to move away. “It’s given us the opportunity to stay home where we grew up and for me to raise my children in an area that I call home,” she says.