Yesterday, at a luncheon hosted at the Marriot Providence, Gateway Healthcare honored Kathy Sullivan – Community Relations Manager for the Collette Foundation – for her community outreach work and the Foundation’s support of Gateway through the years.
In a speech of thanks, Kathy shared the award with her Community Relations partner, Lynne Kelly, and thanked Gateway for making a true difference in the lives of so many community members. The Collette Foundation named Gateway their Charity of the Year in 2012 — which entailed clothing drives, backpack drives, a grant and monthly support. Gateway has also been the recipient many times over the years for the Giving Tree initiative that the Collette Foundation runs each year at Christmas.
Congratulations, Kathy! And from all of us at the Collette Foundation, thank you, Gateway, for recognizing the Foundation’s local work.
Last Friday was a special day at Collette Vacations. Children that have attended the Heart and Hope Fund summer camp shared their stories of their illness and how our Charity of the Year, the Gabrielle Dinsmore Heart & Hope Fund, has supported them and their families. Many Collette employees showed their support and came to learn more about this worthy cause, and to hear from the charity’s founder, the mother of Gabrielle Dinsmore, about Gabrielle’s story — and the positive impact she continues to make on the world.
At Collette, employees dress down on Fridays, and give $1 to support the charity of the month. That amount is matched at the year’s end for an extra donation to that foundation.
Check out a blog post from February about the Heart and Hope Fund. Click here.
As National Volunteer Week comes to a close, we have so much to celebrate. With over 130 hours of great effort this week to help those in need, it’s a great time for giving back.
Below is a message from Kevin Ferguson, our Collette Foundation’s Peru Ambassador. He encourages us all to “go out and help somebody.” National Volunteer Week is wrapping up – but this is a message we should take with us, into the weeks ahead. One thing we can learn from this week is that our work is never really quite done.
In honor of National Volunteer Week, Collettefoundation.org is celebrating our Top Ten entries dedicated to good works our employees have done by lending a helping hand. Enjoy!
Volunteers band together with the nonprofit Tourism Cares to restore the historic Pensacola Lighthouse Story here.
Our Canada office enjoys a day at the park, volunteering with children! Story here.
Employees clean up Collette’s home city, Pawtucket, RI, in alliance with the nonprofit The Pawtucket Foundation for Pawtucket Proud Day.
Team Peru creatively organized and then volunteered time at a book fair to benefit our Peru project! Story here.
Employees join together in Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. Story here.
Many employees give back on a frequent basis. Story here.
Employees fed the homeless at the McAuley House as part of their “Lunch On Us” program. Story here.
Our Transportation Department turned some volunteer time into a friendly competition. Story here.
Our Community Relations Manager volunteered at the RI Community Food Bank with lifelong friends, discovering new ways to deepen friendships by giving back together. Story here.
Today, members of marketing and accounting at Collete donned their Collette Foundation t-shirts to get into the spirit of volunteering at the Rhode Island Community Food Bank — one of the many ongoing projects this week for National Volunteer Week.
On the list of things to do: Organize and package food and toiletries which will get distributed to families in need in the Rhode Island community.
Volunteers returned to Collette at noon after a full morning of hard work, with smiles on their faces. The message shared:
“Giving back always feels good. Doing it with colleagues and friends makes our teams closer and makes doing a good deed that much more fun.”
This week, National Volunteer Week, is a time dedicated to motivating individuals in their communities to celebrate the value of giving back. This week-long event, full of nationwide events, is sponsored by Points of Light. It’s about taking action and encouraging individuals and their respective communities to be at the center of social change.
Here at the Collette headquarters in Rhode Island, so many volunteers are rolling up our sleeves to provide more than 130 hours of service to local organizations.
Our top three initiatives this week:
Serving lunch at the McAuley House in Providence — a meal site and house of hospitality for the hungry or homeless.
Inspecting, sorting and packing donated food in the production warehouse at the RI Community Food Bank. This blogger will be there Wednesday with fellow marketing team members all morning and I’ll share photos/video here.
Lacing up sneakers to March for Babies in Bristol, RI. This walk supports the March of Dimes and is geared more toward fundraising.
It’s no secret that the New England-based Collette Vacations loves the Boston Red Sox… just like it’s no secret that the company loves supporting great causes and giving back. This week, the employees combined these two loves and “Dressed for Sox-Cess.” Basically, employees donated money and were able to don their favorite Sox gear… all with the goal to raise funds for the Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
AND IT WAS A HOME RUN! Our team raised a grand total of over $1,600.00.
The team was excited to dress down and rally for such a great cause. As they brought their winning look and high spirits to work, The Jimmy Fund and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute brought its gratitude as well, offering Collette’s enthused employees some prizes including a chance to win a visit from a Red Sox player.
This Red Sox story was definitely a win-win for all.
The Collette Foundation proudly announces their Charity of the Year, The Gabrielle Dinsmore Heart & Hope Fund. This endearing charity, established by parents, Louise and Jeff Dinsmore, came into effect shortly after their daughter lost her battle against a congenital heart defect.
Despite being diagnosed with heart disease days after birth, the Dinsmore family strived to create a normal environment in the midst of medications, doctors appointments and surgeries. As a result, the family established the Heart & Hope Fund to serve as a resource for affected families, providing educational, emotional, recreational and financial support.
The charity continues to be of assistance to the local area of Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut and furthers their support to affected families through the development of Gabrielle’s Heart Camp. With the help of the Collette Foundation, Gabrielle’s Heart Camp will be coming to the Rhode Island area. With a $5,000 donation, the Heart & Hope Fund will be providing the first free Rhode Island summer camp for children suffering from heart disease. Welcomed by some of the top caregivers in New England, children and accompanying families will be given a set of life skills essential to living with a chronic heart condition all the while enjoying the company of children alike. Collette Vacations employees intend to continue their support throughout the year donating the majority of their “casual Friday dollars” to the charity as well as volunteering at various events throughout the year in hopes that these children will continue to embrace their uniqueness and have the ability to live their lives to the fullest potential.
Collette Vacations employees are teaming together to support the efforts of the “Go Red For Women” awareness campaign. This campaign, supported by the American Heart Association (AHA), strives to inspire women to take charge of their lifestyle through healthy choices. Known as the #1 killer in women, surpassing all forms of cancer combined, cardiovascular disease is growing in recognition amongst women and men.
Collette Vacations has deemed February their month of action. With the beginning of February being marked, National Wear Red Day, Collette Vacations kicked off their awareness efforts by asking all employees to partake in sporting red apparel accompanied by a $1.00 donation. Collette Vacations will continue to focus their energy on the “Go Red For Women” campaign throughout the month of February in hopes of having a sizeable donation to the American Heart Association as a result at the month’s closing. Collette Vacations motivates employees to proudly model the color red every Friday of the month to show their support, awareness and respect for those affected. In addition, Collette Vacations dedicates Valentine’s Day to the cause, encouraging employees to relish in festivity as well as awareness by dressing in their choice of red.
Education compliments the awareness campaign as employees are greeted with the opportunity to dress down accompanied by information regarding symptoms of the disease and tips to live a healthier, preventative lifestyle. Coinciding with the AHA, Collette Vacations invites women to take control of their health by improving their daily choices; quitting smoking, eating healthier, exercising more and maintain a healthy weight. To learn more about the symptoms of heart attack or stroke or find tips to live healthier go to www.GoRedForWomen.org/WearRedDay.
January proved to be an active month for the Collette Foundation as employees focused on donating their time to the local Rhode Island Food Bank. Collette Vacations’ Product Operations Team contributed to the efforts of the food bank during the morning of January 24th. Upon arrival, the team took on the task of sorting donated food into individual boxes in order for those boxes to be filled for communities in need. The extra hands enabled the food bank to deliver the household goods and food to the communities in need in a more efficient manner. The Collette Vacations Team donated their time to the food bank’s efforts but in return, received a greater understanding and appreciation for the little things in life.
“Giving back is such a rewarding experience,” Product Operations Team leader Siobhan Siedzik said. “Working at the Rhode Island Food Bank is very humbling. We take for granted going to the store when we need something; we get whatever it is we need and don’t think twice. There are families who rely on donations and the food bank provides them with a wonderful service.”
“Thank you for doing what you do... for reminding all of us that we don't just sell the world, we share the world. I have seen the Collette Foundation in action a few times and it is quite admirable and touching. I have been communicating with two little girls after visiting the orphanage in Peru. The experience was heart warming for me and my guests.”
--Malori L. Asman, CTC, MCC
Amazing Journeys, LLC
Pittsburgh, PA
