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Berkshire Bank Launches Companywide Community Service Day09:24AM / Tuesday, May 26, 2009
PITTSFIELD, Mass. - Berkshire Bank announced that its Employee Volunteer Program will be holding a company-wide community service day on May 27.
On that day, over 90 bank employees will be spending the afternoon carrying out five community service projects that will benefit non-profit organizations in Berkshire County, the Pioneer Valley in Massachusetts, New York and Vermont. The projects were selected and organized by the Employee Council members who oversee the program for Berkshire Bank. (Rain Date is May 28.)
The projects will all take place from noon to 4 and include:
Pittsfield, MA - The Christian Center – Exterior repairs and upgrades - 24 employees will power- wash 3 buildings, scrape and paint window trim and decks, remove old storm windows, clean grounds, haul away debris, restore the Center’s signs.
Great Barrington – Housatonic River Walk in downtown Great Barrington – 19 employees will, cut brush and widen the trail and scrape and paint the handrails. The Walk has become an important part of Great Barrington life and is a respite in the middle of downtown.
Springfield – The Shriners Hospital - 24 employees will undertake a general cleanup of the exterior grounds of the hospital doing landscaping, laying mulch, planting flowers, washing picnic tables and general cleanup.
Manchester Center, Vt. – The Northshire Day School - 20 employees will perform an exterior cleanup and do landscaping work at this child care center. They will sand and varnish picnic tables, wooden toys, playground equipment and do general landscaping work to spruce up the grounds. In addition, a group of employees will be carrying out a landscaping and flower planting project at the Manchester and Mountains Chamber of Commerce headquarters on Main Street in Manchester.
Albany, N.Y., Region - Rensselaer Public Library. 8 employees will clean up and paint and provide new furniture for the Library community room that is used by the Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County to provide adult education in the Albany Capital District region.
The Volunteer Program was initiated at the bank in May 2008 as another way for the Bank to give back to communities it does business in, in addition to the more than $1 million it gives away each year to non-profit organizations through its charitable foundations. The program helps employees get involved in volunteerism, teaches team work, builds employee morale and creates a positive impact on the non-profit organizations it helps. In addition to these group work projects, volunteers are also involved in a school mentoring program, conducting a school-wide IT assessment, downtown clean ups, school reading programs, food drives and other activities.
The Volunteer Program is one of few known corporate volunteer programs in Western Massachusetts. It is unusual in that the company gives paid release time for employees to participate in its projects which are often done on regular work days. This was an important part of the program design to encourage employees at all levels to be able to participate on an equal footing.
Michael P. Daly, President and CEO of Berkshire Bank, stated, “The Employee Volunteer Program has rapidly become an integral part of the culture at Berkshire Bank. In one year, more than half of our employees have participated in one of its programs and have had positive experiences.”
Berkshire Bank hopes that other companies will follow its lead in becoming more involved in the community, especially during this economic downturn when many non-profit organizations are experiencing a reduction in funding and a loss of important programs. It is willing to partner with other companies interested in undertaking community projects or in helping to initiate volunteer programs of their own.
The Volunteer Program operates under the direction of the Berkshire Bank Foundation. Foundation Executive Director, Peter J. Lafayette, stated, “I am gratified about what has been accomplished in our first year of operation. We have an extremely dedicated group of employees who serve on the Program’s Council and plan and carry out our projects. Every single participant I’ve talked to has had a positive experience and wants to volunteer more. The program has been especially embraced by young employees, many without much past volunteer experience, who are excited about their roles. It really helps contribute to making Berkshire Bank an exciting place to work in.” |
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