When Andrew Choy, an Official with the Pacific Northwest Local Swimming Committee (LSC) takes the deck, he is not only there to support the athletes in the lanes he overlooks; he is there to support the USA Swimming Foundation.  

Choy works as an investigator in Microsoft’s Legal Department. When he’s not sifting through the countless hours of meetings and casework – something he has been doing for nearly 19 years – you can often find him at a pool deck. The passion for officiating developed when his son became a competitive swimmer roughly eight years ago. 

“I enjoy [officiating] for the camaraderie, the constant learning opportunity, and the food,” Choy said with a smile. 

More recently, he discovered that his company was involved in a corporate matching program that turns volunteer hours and nonprofit contributions from staff members into funds that employers match to maximize donations raised towards a nonprofit of choice. When the program was presented to Choy, he chose to give back to the sport of swimming. 

“After I input my officiating hours (into Microsoft’s corporate matching system) and realized that the amount was fairly significant, I was overjoyed and hope that it will be put to good use,” Choy said. “The Foundation is all for the benefit of the swimmers, officials, and volunteers. 

Between September 2023 and August 2024, Choy logged more than 400 hours officiating at sanctioned meets, resulting in more than $10,000 being donated to the USA Swimming Foundation's mission of Saving Lives, Building Champions, and Impacting Communities. 

Matching gifts can make a huge difference for nonprofits of all shapes and sizes, with many companies offering financial incentives to employees for volunteering in their communities. But with an estimated $4-$7 billion in matching funds going unclaimed every year, so much of this available impact goes untouched. In a sport where volunteerism is everything, Choy broadened his impact with just a few clicks. 

While the contribution is large in stature, the process itself is simple. 

“It only takes a few minutes to input the hours that I worked in 2024 as I got them from the USA Swimming website. My company makes the internal website easy to enter matching hours,” he said.

His donation to the Foundation will support learn-to-swim initiatives, U.S. National Team Support, grants for clubs and individuals, and more. 

“I am sure there are others who donated way more money and time than I did,” Choy explained. “I just wanted to do my part and I urge others who work for companies that have matching programs to do the same.” 

Companies of all sizes offer corporate matching programs to employees as an easy, structured way to support good work being done in their communities. And while Choy’s matching comes through his own company, 65% of Fortune 500 companies offer matching programs and over 26 million individuals work for companies that offer some iteration of a matching gift program. To see if your company offers a corporate matching program, visit   https://www.doublethedonation.com.  

For more on the USA Swimming Foundation's matching gift program, visit https://www.usaswimming.org/foundation#donate-today.