Horses Healing Heroes (HHH)

Annual Fundraising Event setup and participation in Sacramento, CA-October 26, 2013

The organization, Horses Healing Heroes, provides a pathway in the form of equine assisted psychotherapy for returning veterans who struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD). I participated because they are a worthwhile local organization that needed people to plan, setup and participate in their annual fundraiser event. I believe in helping those returning veterans who are struggling through Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD). HHH is doing a good thing and groups like this always need help in the form of someone’s time rather than only their money.

I am not a horse person or a fund raiser, so every aspect of working on a fundraising event, a horse focused event and with horse people was new to me. As a result of my participation (along with many others) there was a successful fundraiser that will allow the horses to continue to be cared for and the therapy program to continue to help those with PTSD move out of the shadows and back into a more normal life. As a result of the program, one, two or even a few veterans with PTSD who might have slipped through the bureaucratic cracks otherwise now can obtain the help they need.

Joel Wehner | Service Portfolio Consultant - Analytics | Kronos Incorporated

Giving Back … Animal Shelter Volunteer

Cheryl Girard

As a certifiable Dog Lover, helping homeless animals is a cause that is near and dear to my heart.  Animal welfare organizations have always been my “charities of choice” for providing donations of money, supplies, food, and treats; but I always knew there was so much more I could do.  I decided that contributing my free time and talents to help these wonderful animals find their forever homes was the perfect way to help!  So, I signed up to be a Shelter Volunteer at the Teton Valley Community Animal Shelter here in Teton Valley, ID.  

Some of the tasks involved are helping with the animals’ daily care such as cleaning stalls, feeding, watering and taking the dogs for walks.  I have also offered my administrative, organizational and project management expertise to assist with Shelter operations and upcoming fundraisers.  I am currently assisting with entering donor and adopter information into the Shelter’s new database.

I have also organized two pet drives at the local grocery store as a Shelter volunteer.  At each event, I handed out a wish list to the shoppers as they approached the store entrance.  People were more than happy to “add something to their cart” for the animals.  Folks also stopped to tell stories about the great dog or cat they adopted from the Shelter and how much they love them.  I could talk all day to people about their pets, so I had a wonderful time chatting it up about “Buddy’s antics” and “Max’s new-found home,” to name a few.  It was also such a great feeling to load up the back of my truck and drive to the Shelter with all the cat & dog food, treats, kitty litter and cleaning supplies donated by the community!  Not to mention, we also received well over $250.00 in cash donations between the two events! 

This past Christmas, I worked on a really fun, “secret” project.  I filled a large box with dog and cat toys and treats.  I wrapped up the box and included a note to the animals from Santa Paws.  I secretly dropped the package off early on Christmas morning before the Shelter opened.  I wanted to make sure all the animals that haven’t found homes yet would have treats and new toys to play with on Christmas from Santa!  My plan went off without a hitch as you can see by the attached photo from the Shelter’s Facebook posting on Christmas Day!  

My goal for this volunteering effort is to make a valuable contribution, on many different levels, to help the homeless animals who are in the Shelter by no fault of their own. 

My dream … that every homeless animal gets the opportunity to jump into their new family’s car with their head sticking out the window and their ears flapping in the wind on their way … home! J

 

 

Judging UMass Lowell Science Projects

We had a group of volunteers who judged 189 science projects presented by over 250 students at University Massachusetts of Lowell from Kronos.  This was the  Northeast Regional Middle School Science and Engineering Fair at the University Massachusetts of Lowell.   

Bringing Holiday Cheer to Our Service Members

How would it feel be a war hero, alone in a military hospital far from home and family or deployed in a war zone during the holiday season? The Kronos Ed Services @ Your Service team hated the thought that any of our service members might be in that situation, and we decided to make a small difference in their lives. We got together over two lunch periods and wrote 11 boxes of holiday cards, which will be delivered to soldiers as part of the American Red Cross Holiday Mail for Heroes program.

 We cranked up some holiday music and wrote messages of thanks and holiday greetings to 176 soldiers. The cards will now be sorted by the Red Cross and delivered to soldiers around the globe.

A very small commitment of time and effort on our part, but it’s a great feeling to know that we might be bringing small rays of sunshine into the lives of a few of our American heroes.  A great way to celebrate the holiday season!

 Eileen Cushing-Craig

Kronos Giveback Initiative

Tutoring Volunteer ­ GED Students

They all have different reasons for not finishing High School yet all have one thing in common:  motivation to pass the GED test.  Many struggle with Math.  I have found the students learning styles to be different.  Teaming with the GED prep instructor, we work to offer alternative paths to problem solving.  Most challenging are word problems.  For example, students feel like they are getting the following problem to solve:  A taxi departs heading due south for 6 miles, the moon is full therefore how old is Susan?  J  Joking aside, in reality, students are provided with enough information to obtain a solution but often find themselves intimidated.  Breaking the problems down into smaller parts normally allows them to calculate to the correct answer.

 

Back to motivation. I find the student’s motivation inspiring. The support they receive from their friends & family are off the chart. And you should see the beaming smiles on their faces when, after passing the GED, finally graduating!  Accomplishment if not closure regarding an outstanding part of their lives.

Gary Sommers

Dave Chase's Giveback

My wife and I financially support and work with a deaf school in Puerto Rico. The name of the school is the Evangelical School for the Deaf in Luquillo, PR and they work mostly with deaf children from the mountains (ages range from 5 to seniors in High School). It is a small school that relies on private donations from individuals or church groups but they do an incredible work.

My father was career Navy and when I was a kid we lived in Puerto Rico for a few years. During that time my parents were involved with the school and that’s how I came to be involved as well.

We are heading down to the island November 2 – 12 for a week of service at the school. We’ll be cooking for the students (lunches mostly) and helping out with other projects around the facilities. I’m pretty emotional (especially with these kids) so my first day will be hugging kids and shedding some tears and my last day will be much of the same. 

38 Hats for the Homeless in Arizona

In September, I had a friend that posted on Facebook that her church ‘Amadeo Vineyard’ in Queen Creek, AZ was collecting handmade hats / scarves to distribute to the homeless here in Arizona with the target collection date of November 1.  So I got my crochet hook ‘cooking’.  In my evenings and weekends, I started cranking out hats.  Each hat takes approx. 2 hours.  By the time I was done I had a total of 38 hats (76 volunteer hours total).  What a great way to redeem my ‘TV’ watching, huh!   So before I turned in the hats I had my husband take a picture.

 It was a fun way to volunteer :-)

 Miriam Wilson | Training Specialist | Kronos Incorporated

Giving Back to the Paul Center for Learning and Recreation

The Paul Center for Learning and Recreation is a local gem that is shining a bit more brightly thanks to the hard work of seven Kronites, who spent Wednesday, October 9 prepping and painting the trim on their administration building, in advance of a major fundraiser that is being held there later this month. Volunteers included: Alicia Alcaino, Lyn Bennett, Eileen Cushing-Craig, Tom Hanlon, Maria Leon, Ron Pieciul, and Roger Tremblay.  

The Center is dedicated to assisting individuals with developmental disabilities in many ways, including running innovative summer camp and educational programs, respite care, and transitional care. The Center survives and thrives due in no small part to the generous volunteer support from many local groups, including ours.  It was a day of hard work and lots of laughs, and when we left, the place was dazzling! I have attached a few pictures from the day.

Cheers!

Eileen Cushing-Craig

Giving Back to Last Mile Learning

I would like to share a fantastic experience I recently had where I got to combine my love of instructional design and e-learning development with giving back to a worthy cause. I volunteered to design and develop a course the Last Mile Learning Initiative, a library of leadership training courses that is offered free of charge to individuals working to improve lives in the developing world.  (Think organizations like Project Hope and Habitat for Humanity.) 

I joined the effort last fall, after being asked to create a training course called “Selection Interviewing,” which is meant to teach new managers how to effectively locate and hire new employees. As a side note, I submitted this project as an independent study course as part of my Master’s program at UMass Boston. (Aced it!)

I was teamed with a liaison from Last Mile Learning who provided me with some resources such as templates and graphics, but basically, I was on my own to develop a scenario and create the entire course from scratch. After contributing well over 100 hours of design, development, and production work, I completed the course around Thanksgiving and submitted it for approval to the organization. They loved the course and required not a single change. The Last Mile Learning web site went live in April with 15 eLearning courses, 13 face-to-face training packages, four curriculum guides, and two learning paths. Of these, seven courses have already been translated to Spanish, French, and Portuguese.  21 more courses are currently under development.  (Check it out here:  http://www.lastmilelearning.org/site_build/www/index3.php)

I can’t tell you how exciting it was for me to view the new web site,  see my course, and to know that it is a part of such a wonderful resource to so many people who are working to make the world a better place. It was really hard work, and consumed much of my free time last fall, but I would eagerly participate in the project again. In fact, I just agreed to help them out again by quality checking someone else’s finished e-learning course. 

Last Mile Learning needs additional volunteers in many capacities, so if you have any interest in hearing more, please reach out to me. 

Thank you!

Eileen Cushing-Craig

 

 

Muscular Dystrophy Association Lockup in Greensboro NC at May 9th, 2013


I recently participated in an MDA fundraising event and wanted to share that information with you.

 I decided to participate in the MDA Lockup in Greensboro NC at May 9th, 2013 for a couple of reasons. 

  • My daughter thought it would be something good to do together (she works for Merrill Lynch in Greensboro NC – Danielle Grimes Dahlby)
  •  I remember being inspired as a young child watching Jerry Lewis do the telethons on TV and I personally have known a few individuals through my church who have been affected by a form of Muscular Dystrophy.

Danielle and I decided to drive instead of being picked up in a “paddy wagon” because I had just flown in late the night before from our Sales Conference in Chicago, Illinois and just spent the night with her instead of driving the hour home.  

We were arrested when we arrived onsite and attached are our mugshots.  We took with us all of our generous contributions and had to raise additional funds to secure our release.  So, instead of one phone call, we made many!

Thanks to the generosity of both our colleagues and friends, we raised close to a combined $1000 for this worthy cause.  

Our main goal was to send as many of the children affected by some form of this debilitating disease to a summer camp.  Every $50 raised assisted in those efforts.

 Our gratitude to everyone who contributed and to Kronos for their support in my efforts.


-Wanda Grimes