By: Eric Gundersen
Mission doesn’t quit. When we started Mapbox in the D.C. garage we did it as part of a community of builders, policy heads, and people coming together to build better services in support of the government and civil society.
Each of these communities operates based on mission — a sense of why the world needs their work, and a commitment to see that work to success through challenges and setbacks.
Fast forward 10 years and watching this shutdown take a toll on this community is horrible. The financial impact is heartbreaking. The weight of this on families, businesses, and communities with D.C. ties is significant. This shutdown is disrespecting the community driving so much of the positive change we see in the world.
To show our love and solidarity with the communities affected we are doing what we’ve always done in the face of adversity: bring people we love together.
We’re throwing a little party for people leveraging tech and smart policy to change the world. These are our people, and we found these kindred folks all across the gov space when we started Mapbox. Join me and Mapbox at Baby Wale on 1/17 and show some Gov Love.
Over the years we’ve been next to people building maps to tell stories about broadband speeds in rural America, famines in the horn of Africa, fraudulent election results in Afghanistan. Without a community like this, we wouldn’t be the company or the product Mapbox is today.
Whether you’re in government or working in a related field, come hang and talk with other people fighting the good fight.
Mission doesn’t quit: Gov ❤️ + D.C. Roots was originally published in Points of interest on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.