Kids & Family

Volunteers to Give Back in Yorktown, Somers for Annual Community Service Day

By Laura Mogil:

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’s 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 will be volunteering in local communities across Westchester, Putnam and Fairfield Counties in 24 projects arranged by The Volunteer Center and The Volunteer Center of United Way of Western Connecticut.

"We are thrilled to spend the day 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.”

Working together, PepsiCo and The Volunteer Center of United Way identified an array of local nonprofits for partnership. Projects include 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," Denizard said. “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, Executive Director Alisa Kesten said.

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,” Kesten “Our resources can help business meet their corporate responsibility goals and boost community engagement—it’s a win-win partnership.”said.

Volunteerism can boost the bottom line, too, she added. Corporate community service isn’t just doing good—it’s also good for business, and can have a role in attracting and retaining talent, according to a recent Deloitte Volunteer Impact Survey.

PepsiCo employees will be volunteering 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 Scout Camp Candlewood, New Fairfield, CT
Green Chimneys, Brewster, NY
Guiding Eyes for the Blind, Patterson, NY
Hilltop Hanover Farm, Yorktown, NY
Lounsbury House at the Ridgefield, 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, Tarrywile, CT
Teatown Lake Reservation, Ossining, NY

For more information about The Volunteer Center of United Way visit www.volunteer-center.org.


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