Rose Gurn and Lynn Kieley are the Corporate Volunteer Council’s Co- Chairs. Rose has worked for Pitney Bowes for 34 years, where she is a Sr. Global Product mgr. (worldwide responsibility for low and mid-volume mailing products in the mail Finishing Business unit).  She has been a member of the CVC since 2007. Lynn has been involved with the CVC since joining Newtown Savings Bank as the Manager of the White Hills branch.

Close to seventy companies are members of the Corporate Volunteer Council which is a program coordinated by Valley United Way's Volunteer Center. The group's enthusiasm, skill and community spirit is leaving an indelible mark on the Valley and improving the quality of life through their everyday efforts that demonstrate that they and their employees care about the community in which they live and work.

The purpose of the CVC is:

1. Networking: Providing a way for companies operating corporate volunteer programs to exchange information and help other companies in the community start corporate volunteer programs.

2. Community-needs identification: It provides a forum where member companies can learn about community needs for employee volunteers. Information is transmitted when the CVC invites a local nonprofit agency to present information on its need for volunteers during a regularly scheduled CVC meeting.

3. Joint Projects: It provides a way for member companies to work together on a community need or problem that is too large or complex for one company to handle alone. Currently active ongoing projects include:

• Monthly Food Drive

• The Caring Circle - Blankets for clients at Umbrella

• Dress for Success - Clothes Drive & more

• Cell Phone Collection - For victims of domestic violence
  

Since 1994 the CVC has also taken on major projects on an annual basis. The two annual projects are the Week of Caring projects which generally involve a very hands on "construction and renovation" project for an area nonprofit organization and the Back to School Clothes for Kids Project which adopts the neediest children in one Valley grammar school providing children with back to school clothing and encouragement for a successful start to the new academic year. You can  learn more about these incredible projects by clicking on the links below.

News & Notes

The CVC in Action:

Caring Circle Reaches New Milestone

Pat Tarasovic, Bonnie Sinclair and Michelle Fabozzi hold up blankets numbers 698, 699 and 700 as the Caring Circle has now reached the 704 mark in blankets collected for victims of domestic violence.