Corporations in Action

The Volunteer Center of United Way helps companies build bridges between their employees and local community needs. Below are some examples of these companies in action. If you are interested in getting your company involved in The Volunteer Center’s Corporate Service Program please call Norman Fulton at 914-227-9311.

Belmay Belmay demonstrated its concern for the environment in Yonkers by giving employees time off, with pay, to remove invasive vines and picking up debris along the Yonkers Aqueduct.. Their efforts help rescue native vegetation and preserve the area's biodiversity Read more...

Dannon Corporation Dannon continues its impressive commitment to local volunteer work with projects aligned with their corporate philanthropic goals of environmental sustainability and healthy eating. This year Dannon employees volunteered at the WestCop Headstart program in Mt. Vernon and at several environmental organizations including Cranberry Lake Preserve in White Plains and the Edith Read Bird Sanctuary in Rye. At WestCop, volunteers used recycled yogurt containers and seeds to teach children about healthy eating and gardening as well as beautified the outdoor play space by weeding the overgrown playground area, building several planters and painting a garden themed mural on the fence. At Cranberry Lake and Edith Read, volunteers performed a myriad of activities including general trail maintenance and beach clean up. Read more...

General Electric As part of their annual leadership training, hundreds of General Electric volunteers descended upon Westchester in an afternoon of volunteer work. Volunteers worked with youth during an after school sports triathlon, hosted a penny social for local seniors, sorted food and read to children.

Heineken Heineken launched their Share the Good Campaign by volunteering on several projects throughout Westchester County including one at The Food Bank for Westchester and singing songs and reading to those impacted by Alzheimer’s Disease. Read more...

Hudson Fusion As part of their “Giving Back to the Community” initiative several volunteers from Hudson Fusion read books to and created an art project with the children of the Lois Bronz Children Center. The Hudson Fusion team took their creativity to the next level and secured a local author and illustrator who agreed to read her book (Sam Bennett’s New Shoes) to the kids as part of the event. The kids imaginations really flowed! Shoe sculptures were constructed with screws and masking tape, and shoe prints were made by filling a roller with paint and imprinting shoe tread onto paper. Many thanks to the Hudson Fusion team who really let their creative juices flow!

IBM Corporation IBM leads the way in corporate citizenship by continuing to offer its employees innovative ways to give back to their community. This year, IBM asked The Volunteer Center to develop more skills based volunteer opportunities for their employees. As such, in addition to the traditional task based volunteer work including sorting and repackaging donated food, beautifying a local animal shelter, and revitalizing the baseball field at a local children’s residential program IBM employees developed and facilitated a free basic computer training for Westchester residents 55+ and a science fair for Peekskill youth. Hundreds of IBM employees made a difference in our community! Read more...

Kraft Foods In October, over 100 Kraft employees from the Tarrytown office volunteered as part of Kraft’s global volunteer service initiative – Delicious Difference Week. Volunteers built benches for a local community garden, painted fences and taught kids about healthy eating.

MBIA Hundreds of MBIA remembered September 11th by volunteering on one of a dozen volunteer projects. MBIA volunteers sorted and repackaged food at the local food bank, hosted a BBQ for veterans, visited with isolated seniors, and created children’s costumes for theatre performances at area hospitals.

Mindspark Mindspark, a local design and advertising company wanted wide range of volunteer opportunities for their employees. The Volunteer Center identified 3 projects that would appeal to a majority of the Mindspark’s employees. Almost 100 Mindspark employees supported their community by helping to maintain a local animal shelter, reading with underserved youth and laying woodchips on the trails of a local nature center.

New York Life As part of their Global Month of Service, a group of volunteers from New York Life’s Sleepy Hollow office spent the afternoon leading youth from the White Plains Youth Bureau in an afternoon of sports related activities including a basketball toss.

Nike Corporation Nike employees assisted the White Plain Youth Bureau (WPYB) recruit students for the start of the WPYB EXCEL program. This program provides creative and fun learning opportunities for White Plains high school students. During this afternoon, volunteers showed youth three of the possible courses students who join the program would participate in including improving communications skills, hip hop dancing and graphic design. In the words of the Nike employees, Swoosh! Read more...

Nokia A Nokia team from Finland volunteered at the Greenburgh Nature Center and other nonprofits. Read more...

Omnicom Omnicom took their corporate generosity to a new level at the Eugenio Hostos Microsociety school, a Yonkers elementary school. Over 80 volunteers helped revitalize hallways and classrooms with a new coat of paint. Further, Omnicom not only donated a new computer lab but also had their employees set up the computer lab on the day. To read more about this Herculean effort visit the Omnicom blog.

Pepsi Bottling Group For the last two years over 900 Pepsi Bottling Group employees have left the office behind to volunteer throughout Westchester, Putnam and Fairfield Counties in company wide volunteer days called PBG Gives Back. PBG Gives Back is the one of the largest customized volunteer initiatives planned by The Volunteer Center. PBG employees visited seniors at the Somers Manor Nursing Home, revitalized a myriad of community spaces, taught Peekskill youth about the benefits of recycling, and much, much more. Read more...

Pernod Ricard Pernod Ricard partnered with The Volunteer Center to offer their employees a turn key volunteer opportunity. Forty Pernod employees volunteered at the Rockefeller Preserve to remove plant species and vines in and around the foundation of Rockwood Hall, a local landmark. Volunteers worked to support The Preserve’s ongoing work in habitat management and healthy ecosystem maintenance as well as to protect a piece of local history.

Singer Direct Each year the summer camp at Grace Church Community Centers’ ends with a carnival. Twenty Employees from Singer Direct joined in the carnival fun by assisting staff in the execution of this annual extravaganza. Volunteers manned activity stations including face painting and tic tac toe bean tosses and acted as cheerleaders encouraging kids throughout the day.

Starwood Hotel Employees from Starwood Hotel visited Somers Manor Nursing home and shared the gift of music.

Viacom Viacom employees helped get Rye Nature Center in shape for the season. Read more...

WJ Deustch WJ Deustch partnered with The Volunteer Center to launch their employee volunteer program. On a early Saturday morning, 15 WJ Deutsch employees descended on the Lois Bronz Children Center to revitalize the facility with a fresh coat of paint and a little deep cleaning.