Love is in the Air, and in Our Communities

By Elissa Nesbitt

You could say every day is Valentine’s day.  Xerox people love their communities, and love to make a difference.

Xerox may be a large global corporation, but our people are local and they make sure that we are connected to our local communities in meaningful ways. While I can’t say that a passion for volunteering is a job requirement, it is a common thread among us, and part of what makes Xerox both a great employer and a good neighbor.

What’s more, where one goes, others will follow. Our people rally around each other and their passions, their commitments to community.

You can be sure that on Valentine’s day, or any day, our people around the world are contributing to their communities to make life a little better for their neighbors and to leave the world a better place than they found it.  Here a few snapshots of what I mean by every day is Valentine’s Day and how Xerox shares the love in our communities.

A summer youth drama camp

Employees in the sales and services organization participated in classes that provided children with hands-on experience making sets, creating props, designing costumes, and building their acting and communication skills. The annual Summer Youth Drama Camp in Eau Claire, Wis., is sponsored by the Chippewa Valley Theater Guild. The guild helps children aged 4 to 18 years of age develop talents and confidence, and give them an opportunity to shine.

Respond to first respondersFirefighters Helping Firefighters

Over 120 Houston Fire Fighters were impacted by the Hurricane Harvey floods in 2017. Xerox responded quickly, releasing much needed funds within days of the storm reaching Houston. Xerox employees helped with clean up around the city, and assisted Firefighters Helping Firefighters organize and distribute funds to impacted firefighters, as well as receipts and information to other donors.  Firefighters Helping Firefighters serves families which have lost their firefighter in the line of duty, as well as firefighters who suffer from life threatening illnesses requiring extended medical care.

78 meal baskets feed 322 people

Turkey, boxes of instant mashed potatoes, instant stuffing, cans of corn, green beans, gravy, cranberries, pumpkin pie, the roasting bags and the aluminum pans to cook the turkey in. Xerox people in Altoona, Penn., partnered with Catholic Charities, local food banks and Blair Family Solutions, a local private counseling organization, to provide Thanksgiving meals for area families in 2017. The Logan Township Municipal building doubled as a storage and staging facility for the food, and as a base of operations for the delivery teams. The 2017 event marked the ninth year of our people’s partnership with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown.

Learn more about how Xerox cares for communities: Visit this page in our Global Citizenship Report.

Read more articles about Corporate Social Responsibility on this blog.

 

Helping Families Helping Families

Families Helping Families of Southeast Louisiana
Some of the children who participate in a performing arts program for children with special needs, performed at FHFSELA’s signature fundraiser.

Families Helping Families of Southeast Louisiana (FHFSELA) provides free services to people with disabilities, their families and professionals in the greater New Orleans area. Xerox people regularly serve throughout the year. For instance:

  • FHFSELAS’ annual Career Symposium is a multi-faceted workshop series that prepares students with disabilities, ages 16 – 22, for meaningful careers after high school.
  • Advocate for people with disabilities at university job fairs by encouraging and enlisting college students to volunteer their time to the agency, clients, events and activities.
  • Provided assistance at meetings of People First of NOLA, which is a self-advocacy group for adults with disabilities, by adults with disabilities.
  • Various fund raisers, such as those held at a bowling alley where families can bring their children with disabilities to enjoy a fun evening of bowling, food and fun.

One of our people was able to volunteered at Families signature fundraising event where she served as a hostess, staffed the registration desk, served light refreshments, and shared information about FHFSELA’s mission and goals with guests.

Habitat for Humanity
Lots of nail gun and power saw action at this Habitat for Humanity site in Long Beach, Calif.

A place they can call home

Habitat for Humanity partners with people to help them build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers, and pay an affordable mortgage. Sixteen Xerox people from our Cerritos, Calif., office spent a day working on four new homes that were in framing stage in nearby Long Beach — lots of nail gun and power saw action.

Good neighbors raise $17,738 in 2017

Day of Caring
From the Day of Caring, at Arc of Monroe, which serves mentally disabled adults in the Rochester area. Our people helped build a memory garden with flower and vegetable boxes that are accessible to clients who are restricted to wheelchairs.

375 Xerox employees in Monroe County, N.Y., raised $17,738 for local organizations in the area. Recipients include our own Trikes for Tykes program, which this blog reported on in December. Other programs throughout the year include:

  • Trikes for Tykes provided 35 tricycles and 8 bicycles for agencies that serve youngsters and adults.
  • The Annual Penny Drive for C.U.R.E. raised $350.
  • 125 volunteers support helped out at five sites during our Day of Caring.
  • 450 meals ordered up during our “Annual Chili-N-Dog Luncheon.”
  • $2,000 checks to Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester as well as Gilda’s Club.
  • Filled 75 Angel Tree tags for the Holidays.
  • Provided numerous back packs through our “Back-to-School Supply Campaign.”
  • Sponsorships for fellow employees who participated in The Tour De Cure and The Missing and Exploited Children bike fundraising events.
  • The Kans-for-Kids team collected 118,305 soda cans and water bottles which raised $7,098 for charity sponsorships.

 

Elevate Your G.A.M.E.
A Xerox internship helped these students elevate their G.A.M.E., pictured with the director of GAME on the left.

An internship that elevates their G.A.M.E

Elevate Your G.A.M.E. seeks to lift urban students (through mentoring) to higher levels in their Grades, Attendance, and Maturity to Empower them to be leaders who bring about positive change in their schools, communities, and the world.

Three students experienced internships at our Cerritos, Calif., location during the summer of 2017. At least seven Xerox managers and co-workers mentored and trained the students. One student said that she developed her computer skills, met great people, and acquired work experience from a big company. “I realized I want to have a career where I work in an office,” she wrote. Another commented that he learned how to operate an Oracle System, audited outbound shipments, and processed international and general air shipments. His exposure to software included VALO, Shopfloor, and SQL database management. Lunch & Learn sessions covered resume writing, Xerox 101, and a roundtable with a vice president who gave the students more exposure to Xerox and the professional world.

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