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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Employees Donating Time, Money to Many Causes

Corporate philanthropy takes many forms but the two most visible are financial contributions and the commitment of human resources. In 2007, the Business Journal committed itself to capturing some of those acts of charity in the Giving column. More than 50 different companies were singled out for their contributions to organizations benefiting the region’s residents. Some are the big corporations you would expect (and hope) to see Amgen, Disney, Wells Fargo but there were also many small, and even micro-sized, businesses that donated products and services. There are lots of ways for companies, and their employees, to contribute and those that do find their businesses reap more benefits beyond just warm, fuzzy feelings. Blue Shield of California, which is itself a not-for-profit corporation, employs about 300 people in offices throughout the San Fernando Valley. Ronda Wilkin, corporate community relations manager for the state, works in Woodland Hills which may be why the employees in the Southern California region have been responsible for nearly 25 percent of the company’s volunteer projects/fundraisers despite having less than 10 percent of the firm’s employees in the state. “We know that employee volunteerism is very important to most organizations as a way to keep employees connected to their companies as well as to the community,” said Wilkin. “We also like to do volunteer activities that double as team-building activities.” For example, Blue Shield sent out 90 employees over two days to help renovate the Boys & Girls Club of Canoga Park. That was about one-third of the Woodland Hills work force. “We had a number of teams our director of Medicare sales had 25 or 26 of his employees and our finance department did also,” she said. “It was a great way to take a team off-site, have some fun and do some good work and do it as a team.” But giving back doesn’t always have to be so intense. Creative fundraisers are one of Wilkin’s specialties. One of the most successful programs at Blue Shield is a morale-booster as well. Employees who donate $20 to the charity of the month are allowed to dress casually for 30 days. Plus, the company matches each the donation. “That’s the best fund raiser we’ve ever come up with,” said Wilkin. “I have employees knocking on my door asking, ‘What’s the charity of the month?'” In April, that charity was Project Linus an initiative that gives blankets made by volunteers to places like Children’s Hospital, sheriff’s stations and other organizations that deal with children. The blankets are very simple, made by knotting strips of fleece together. Wilkin arranged to have materials available in the lunchroom on four Mondays during the lunch hour for workers who wanted to participate but don’t have a lot of time or money to donate. Between the casual-dress donations and the corporate matching that month, Blue Shield gave Project Linus a check for $7,500 plus 70 blankets crafted by employees. Wilkin said that giving is catching on. “We’ve greatly increased it over the last couple of years,” she said. “I am about 110 percent over in matching what I was last year, plus the number of employees who are giving is also up.” Over at Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, giving is slightly down from last year but Community Relations Manager Pam Campeau said she is still very proud of the commitment the company and its employees have made to paying back. “Last year, 2006, we were at 2,700 man hours and we had 461 volunteers,” said Campeau. “This year, to date, we’re over 2,000 man hours and almost $500,000 in corporate contributions and employee donations through the United Way payroll deduction program is running about $200,000.” One of Pratt’s longest-running partnerships has been with the Boys & Girls Club of Canoga Park. The company has donated $10,000 a year for at least 10 years. They also sponsored 31 volunteers who worked on the renovation project, donating nearly 200 man hours on the project. “We have a great volunteer base here at Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne,” said Campeau. They have worked with: MEND on their holiday program; Operation Gratitude, which assembles care packages for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan; Children’s Hunger Fund; Painted Turtle Camp; the Special Olympics of Santa Clarita; the L.A. River Cleanup and the Simi Valley Arroyo Cleanup. “We also support the Children’s Hospital with toys all year for various events and programs,” said Campeau, “and for Project Backpack we filled 528 backpacks with school supplies in three weeks for distribution to needy students at McGrath Elementary School in Newhall.” There were even more supplies than needed and the remainders were then donated to Guadalupe Center, a non-profit in Canoga Park To wrap up the year, the Pratt folks will be partnering with Kiwanis International on the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade float. All these fundraisers have to happen somewhere and in the Valley that somewhere is more often than not the Warner Center Marriott. The organization donates meeting room or ballroom space and the associated food and beverages to a wide variety of charitable events. “Most of the Marriott corporate contribution is through in-kind donations,” said Gwen Shannon, executive assistant to the general manager. “We also donate raffle prizes to groups who are doing fundraising.” Shannon is a member of the Marriott’s CARE Committee that’s Caring Associates Reaching Everywhere which makes recommendations or decides to commit to an event based on urgency or need. “We actually organize anything (the Marriott) participates in and give that information to the associates and seek out volunteers to reach whatever the goal is that we set,” she said. Those goals are lofty. Associates at the hotel raise about $20,000 a year for charities like the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the Arthritis Foundation. Shannon said she has been struck by the fact that even the lower-wage hourly associates often donate $25 or $50 for any given fundraiser. “There is a lot of enthusiasm and sincerity when we undertake a fundraising effort or a volunteer project,” she said. The Marriott also involves the children of employees by including an introduction to charitable giving during their annual “Bring Your Children To Work Day” which takes place about a month before the Arthritis Walk. “On that day there’s a set time that the CARE committee speaks to the children,” said Shannon. “We give them brochures about the Arthritis Walk and try to get them to sign up to walk for children and others that have arthritis and we teach them how to raise funds and what it means and that to understand that everyone is not as fortunate as they are.” In addition to raising money, Marriott employees also contribute more than 500 hours per year in manpower to organizations like Habitat for Humanity and MEND, both in Pacoima. All this volunteering and fundraising doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Shannon said that while she has been at the Marriott for 12 years, in the last three years the participation level has risen dramatically. “I think it’s the executive team,” said Shannon. “It’s Gordon (Luster, the general manager) and the executive committee we have in place here at the hotel.” That’s something that all of the companies interviewed for this article agreed with. As Shannon said, “If it doesn’t come from the executives of the corporation, if the encouragement isn’t there and the support is not sincere, then it’s hard to be successful.”

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