This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

PepsiCo Partners with The Volunteer Center of United Way for Recent "PepsiCo Gives Back Day"

As part of "PepsiCo Gives Back Day" on Oct. 25, volunteers from PepsiCo and liaisons from The Volunteer Center of United Way joined Open Door Family Medical Centers in Port Chester, NY and Ossining, NY for a fun-packed morning of healthy and educational activities.  Pictured are PepsiCo volunteers with children from Weber Drive Child Center in Port Chester. In partnership with The Volunteer Center, more than 400 PepsiCo employees volunteered on 24 projects in Westchester, Putnam and Fairfield Counties.

Building fences, picking up trash, cutting back invasive vines and sorting through donated clothing may not be part of a typical day's work at PepsiCo. But on Oct. 25 during "PepsiCo Gives Back Day," the company’s annual day of community service, that was the job for more than 400 Westchester-based employees.  Leveraging the expertise of The Volunteer Center of United Way, a regional volunteer center located in Tarrytown, employees volunteered in local communities across Westchester, Putnam and Fairfield Counties on 24 projects arranged by The Volunteer Center and The Volunteer Center of United Way of Western Connecticut.

 

Find out what's happening in Port Chesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“We are thrilled to have spent the day at nonprofits throughout the New York and Connecticut area providing support and help as part of PepsiCo Gives Back Day,” said Charlene Denizard, director of community engagement and volunteering for PepsiCo Global Citizenship. “We are committed to the local communities where we live, work and operate; we believe community engagement and strengthening our neighborhoods is part of being a world-class company.”

 

Find out what's happening in Port Chesterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Working together, PepsiCo and The Volunteer Center of United Way identified an array of local nonprofits for partnership. Projects included building, tutoring, trail maintenance, painting, cleaning, reading with children, helping farms with harvesting, and working with seniors, among others. The annual program showcases the employees’ commitment to the communities in which they live and work by participating in service projects benefiting their hometowns.

 

"The expertise of The Volunteer Center of United Way made planning and executing “PepsiCo Gives Back Day” easy and meaningful," added Denizard. “The Volunteer Center understands the needs of local nonprofits and helped us to identify local volunteer opportunities that incorporated the skills of our employees and matched employees with causes for which they have a passion.”

 

As a one-stop-shop for developing corporate employee volunteer programs, The Volunteer Center of United Way develops turnkey solutions for small and large firms to maximize impact in local communities, explained Alisa Kesten, executive director. The organization plans customized corporate days of service and offers participation in their signature programs, like 9/11 Days of Service and the Martin Luther King Day of Service, so that companies have an array of choices to meet their corporate responsibility goals.

 

“We maintain relationships with over 500 nonprofit organizations and maintain details on their volunteer needs—so businesses don’t have to,” said Kesten. “Our resources can help business meet their corporate responsibility goals and boost community engagement—it’s a win-win partnership.”

 

PepsiCo employees volunteered at the following locations on Oct. 25:

 

  • Ability Beyond Disability, Yorktown, NY and Danbury, CT
  • American Red Cross, Purchase, NY
  • Audubon Center, Greenwich, CT
  • Camp Combe, Putnam Valley, NY
  • Edith G. Read Wildlife Sanctuary, Rye, NY
  • Family Services of Westchester, The Sharing Shelf, Port Chester, NY
  • The Food Bank for Westchester, Elmsford, NY
  • Girl Scouts Camp Candlewood, New Fairfield, CT
  • Green Chimneys, Brewster, NY
  • Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Patterson, NY
  • Hilltop Hanover Farm, Yorktown, NY
  • Lounsbury House, Ridgefield, CT
  • Kids in Crisis, Cos Cob, CT
  • Only Make Believe, Somers, White Plains, NY
  • Open Door Family Medical Centers, Ossining, Port Chester, NY
  • Pegasus Therapeutic Riding, Brewster, NY
  • Ridgefield Sunrise, Ridgefield, CT
  • Somers Manor, Somers, NY
  • Sullivan Farm, Mew Milford, CT
  • Tarrywile, Danbury, CT
  • Teatown Lake Reservation, Ossining, NY

 

About The Volunteer Center of United Way:

Recently awarded a Top-Rated Nonprofit designation, The Volunteer Center’s core mission is to inspire, mobilize, and equip individuals and groups to take positive action to address pressing challenges, support nonprofits and strengthen the quality of life in our community.  The Volunteer Center is a one-stop resource devoted to increasing volunteerism in Westchester and our surrounding communities.  We encourage adults to serve, youth to build character, families to bond, young professionals to lead, mature adults to share their wisdom and businesses to support our community.  Through organized volunteer projects, as well as by connecting individuals to nonprofit organizations, The Volunteer Center helps people take action to strengthen the quality of life in their community. Over 250,500 hours of service were devoted last year to 500 nonprofits at a value of over $8.2 million. In September 2011, The Volunteer Center was designated one of ten Regional Volunteer Centers in the State of New York, covering the Mid-Hudson Valley.  For more information, visit www.volunteer-center.org.

 

 

 

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?