Volunteer Events:
Dedication to Education (D2E) 2015
2015 marked the global expansion of our signature employee volunteer programme following a pilot of the programme in Connecticut last year. The kick-off took place at Stepping Stones Museum for Children in Norwalk, where more than 40 employees led a Family Literacy Night event in partnership with the museum and Reading Is Fundamental. Employees helped children with arts and crafts, served dinner and distributed more than 1000 new RIF books to more than 400 families. Our President and CEO Marc Lautenbach participated and read to the children. This was the first of 34 projects involving more than 425 employee volunteers between August and November. Among the D2E projects that took place:
Employees conducted school supplies drives in partnership with Big Brothers Big Sisters in Mississauga, Canada and Dallas TX; with United Way in Hartford CT; Arbor Hill School in Troy NY; in Sydney, Australia; with Kids in Crisis in Bridgeport and Shelton CT; and with Green Elementary School in Reading PA.
Teams of employees conducted Share the Message: Read! programs in Appleton, WI with the Boys Girls Club of Fox Valley; in Detroit MI with Voyager Academy; in Melbourne, Australia at an Early Learning Centre; and in Troy NY with Arbor Hill School
Teams of employees volunteered with United Way in Day of Action volunteer projects in Danbury CT and Spokane WA, the United Way’s Imagination Library in Brisbane, Australia; and the United Way’s Success by Six programme at Woodland Elementary School in Kansas City MO.
Employees helped build school gardens, outdoor learning areas and provided other environmental education programmes at the Danbury, CT King Street Campus; in Ansonia (CT) Nature Center; at the Woodland Elementary School’s Born Learning Trail in Kansas City MO;
Employees provided nutritious meals to low-income and homeless people in Bridgeport CT in partnership with buildOn; in Jacksonville FL in partnership with the Salvation Army; and in Stamford CT in partnership with New Covenant House.
Employees conducted book drives in Omaha NE for children served by Completely KIDS, Kids Can, Boys and Girls Club, and Girls Inc.;
Employees read aloud to students at Bridgeport’s Columbus and Columbus Annex Schools in partnership with the School Volunteer Association’s Read Aloud program; in Stamford CT in partnership with Children’s Learning Centers; and in Brisbane, Australia as part of the Jacaranda Festival.
In addition, employees in Stamford, CT also harvested vegetables and prepared garden beds at Fairgate Farms and helped students in grades K-5 at the Stamford YMCA’s afterschool programme with homework; Troy, NY employees set up a healthy and nut-free Halloween Trick or Treat Party featuring books, pencils and arts and crafts; and Atlanta GA employees purchased materials and assembled literacy kits for local school children.
Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Mentors and Judges
Pitney Bowes volunteers have long supported students in NFTE’s entrepreneurship education programmes by helping them develop their business plans and participating as judges in NFTE’s business plan competitions. This past year, our volunteers helped nearly 150 students in NFTE Innovation Days in Washington DC, Fairfield County CT, Westchester County NY, Boston MA and Houston TX. In addition, we regularly help NFTE through board service. Currently Rose Velez Smith (VP Global Integrated Talent Management) serves on the NFTE New York Metro NFTE Advisory Board, and Ann Daley (VP Government Affairs) serves on the NFTE New England Advisory Board.
United Way Fund Allocation Volunteers
We encourage employees to participate in the United Way’s grant-making activities, leveraging their skills and experience to help the organisation allocate funds to meet the needs of their local communities.
Clean Up Australia
In March 2016, twenty Pitney Bowes Australia staff members in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne donned yellow gloves and rubbish bags as they helped to “Clean Up Australia” by picking up rubbish in their local area. The Pitney Bowes Australia team has supported this effort for several years to help make Australia a cleaner and more beautiful country. This year alone, 682,000 Clean Up Australia volunteers removed an estimated 16,657 tonnes of rubbish from local parks, waterways, beaches, sporting fields, bushland and roadways across the country.
Supporting Australian Students
Pitney Bowes partnered with United Way Australia to help students in Melbourne and Sydney achieve a better start in life after high school. Six employee volunteers in Melbourne helped Narre Warren South College students write CVs, then conducted mock job interviews to help prepare them for life in the workforce. In Sydney, volunteers took part in the James Meehan Educating Young Men workshop, mentoring students to make positive decisions for themselves and their careers.
Mentoring with the Danbury Early College Opportunity (ECO) Program
In 2015, we participated in a new online mentoring opportunity to benefit high school students participating in the Danbury Early College Opportunity (ECO) Program. This innovative undertaking is a collaboration of public and private entities, including the Danbury Public School District, Naugatuck Valley Community College, The State of Connecticut Board of Regents NewOak Financial and Pitney Bowes. It’s a comprehensive programme that prepares students to excel in school, university and career in a variety of information technology fields. Students graduate with high school diplomas and associate degrees from Naugatuck Valley Community College. The mentoring programme consists of a workplace learning curriculum based on the Framework for 21st Century Learning. Our employees help students put the classroom curriculum into practice in a real-world setting.
Taking Time to Help Students in Tel Aviv Children’s Home
Twenty employee volunteers worked with students in Tel Aviv’s Achuzat Sara Children’s Home Wonder Class this year, with each of the 10 students paired with two employee mentors to support them throughout the programme. Students, teachers, coaches and mentors met at our offices every two weeks, with employee volunteers helping the students work through exercises, and forming close bonds with them over the course of the programme. Students enjoyed both their time with their mentors and their visits to our offices. At the same time, they gained important academic and social skills to help them prepare for school and career.
Reading to Preschool Students at Children’s Learning Centers (Stamford CT)
2016 marked the start of a new Pitney Bowes corporate reading programme at Children’s Learning Centers. Once a month, fifteen employee volunteers lead group reading activities for children 3-5 years old in their classrooms. Sessions start with 15-20 minutes of reading from books selected by the children, followed by other activities ranging from arts and crafts to playtime.
Nurturing the future of innovation
Several Tech Ladder members (who number among the top talent in technology for Pitney Bowes) recently volunteered as judges at the Connecticut Invention Convention, where they witnessed first-hand the inspiring creativity of young students. Each year, the Convention brings more than 900 young inventors from a field of 1700 student entrants in grades K-8 from all over the Northeast to the University of Connecticut at Storrs to display their problem-solving inventions. The judges selected approximately 20 finalists and met with the students one-on-one to learn about their inventions. The three final winners each received a Pitney Bowes Foundation Innovation Award and a $100 US Savings Bond.
Omaha food drive Competition
Each quarter, our Presort Services facility in Omaha, NE, selects a volunteer project to support urgent needs in the community. Their most recent beneficiary was Open Door Mission, a local non-profit committed to breaking the cycle of homelessness and poverty. Each day the Mission supplies more than 500 lunches to the homeless through its Sack Lunch Program. When supplies ran low, employees created a friendly competition to help drive employee donations of cookies, chips, granola bars, crackers and popcorn. Both teams won in our view, changing lives through care and compassion.
Volunteer Recognition
United Way of Western CT Corporate Volunteer Award
Pitney Bowes and its Danbury employees were recognised with the United Way of Western Connecticut's Corporate Volunteer Award. The award was given in 2015 in recognition of the company’s first-ever Dedication to Education week of service, conducted in conjunction with United Way. The week was a huge success, with more than 475 Connecticut-based volunteers, contributing more than 2000 hours of service in 32 volunteer projects in partnership with 23 Fairfield County non-profits. Dedication to Education has since become a signature volunteer programme throughout Pitney Bowes locations worldwide.
United Way of Northeast Florida Community Engagement Award
This award recognises our team’s year-round support of United Way's mission to improve lives in the greater Jacksonville, Florida area. Throughout the year, the team participates in programmes that provide food to the homeless, clothing drives, Toys for Tots, adopting a family for the holidays and School Back Pack Challenges.
Connecticut Mentoring Hall of Fame
Tom Gawlak (VP Finance, Pitney Bowes North America Mailing) was recently inducted into the Connecticut Mentoring Hall of Fame in recognition of his quarter-century of mentoring to students through our volunteer programmes. Mentors and mentees come from all walks of life, and come together to shoot hoops, read stories or just share a laugh. Although mentors may help their mentee with homework or a school project if needed, mentors are not tutors; their role is to be a friend to a child in need and provide some guidance along the way. “Being involved in mentoring and giving back to the community is an important part of my professional development and work-life balance”, said Tom. “It's not about having time; it's about making time”.
Network For Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Individual Volunteerism Award
Ann Daley (VP Government Affairs) was recently recognised by NFTE with its highest volunteer honour. Ann began volunteering with NFTE in 2012, when she represented Pitney Bowes as a judge at NFTE’s Regional Youth Business Plan Competition. She deepened her involvement by coordinating Pitney Bowes Innovation Days at Lawrence (MA) High School and at Pathways to Technology in Hartford, CT, recruiting colleagues to train small groups of students and provide feedback on their ideas and submissions. Ann and her fellow Innovation Day recruits continue to volunteer with NFTE today. In addition, Ann also serves on NFTE New England’s Advisory Board.
