Kronos Giveback Initiative

On Friday, May 24^th I volunteered with my son and 50 kids in his senior class for a community service day.  

Our task was to clear an area a little smaller than the size of a football field behind the town’s Senior Center.  The town has spent the last several months giving the downtown area a much needed face-lift by adding walkways, trees and sitting benches.  In addition, they added a walking trail to be used by the local residents and visitors.  The trail goes behind the Senior Center along the river.  

Our mission was to clear all of the shrubs, brush, overgrowth and trash all along the hill down to the river.  This would allow people to see the water as they walk along the trail.  It was an impressive task to be completed but the seniors along with myself and two teachers worked most of the day to meet the challenge.  In the end the town, as well as those visiting the Senior Center, were very pleased with the finished product.   

The seniors were exhausted but pleased to have contributed to the town’s beautification and adding their mark along the walking trail.    

 

Katie Robinson

Employee Development

Our trusty Chicago crew was back at the Peoples Resource Center yesterday assisting in the food pantry.  It’s our 3^rd trip – we’re practically regulars – and we are planning our 4^th for October.   The Peoples Resource Center offers a wide array of social service programs designed to empower their clients and improve lives.  There is always so much positive energy in the air that we leave feeling empowered ourselves.  The camaraderie with the clients, staff, volunteers and each other is priceless.  Thank you for encouraging us to step outside of our daily jobs and give back. 

People Resource Center Mission Statement:  People's Resource Center community exists "to respond to basic human needs, promote dignity and justice, and create a future of hope and opportunity for the residents of DuPage County, Illinois through discovering and sharing personal and community resources."    www.peoplesrc.org

May 2013 - Kronos Care Event Participants:

• Cheryl Johnson
• Mary Michael
• Fred Miller
• Robin Platt
• Jim Puccini
• Kathy Reszel
• Susie Salins

 

"Some fences keep people out, some fences keep people in, but this fence brings people together”. 

On May 14, 2013 a group of Kronites descended on Sunny Meadow Farm in Chelmsford to construct and paint a fence for the Chelmsford Open Space Stewardship. It was a nice spring day and everyone enjoyed building and painting the fence that borders the property line along the road. Ultimately, the Open Space Stewardship would like to entirely enclose the property with a fence, but so far, only a small portion of fencing has been completed. Our goal for the day was to build and paint an approximately 240 foot section of fencing.  Phil Stanway from Chelmsford Open Spaces hoped we could get it halfway completed in the time we had and then have another group complete it. Nothing doing, the fence was completed by this high octane team and Phil was in awe and said we have moved to the top of his list of groups to reach out to for additional opportunities. 

We had a great day and everyone walked away with a sense of accomplishment. The following gives you some background on Sunny Meadow farm. Please enjoy the pictures taken by our great photographer Alicia, although Jerry the dog seems to have stolen the spotlight.  

Background Info About Sunny Meadow Farm

Sunny Meadow Farm was originally owned and farmed by Walter F. Lewis. After his death, the land on Robin Hill Rd was used for a horse farm, greenhouses and fields rented by Jones Farm. In 2008, the Town of Chelmsford purchased the land from the family of Walter Lewis. The Chelmsford Open Space Stewardship Program has been working closely with the Town to keep this land as open space and to develop it as a community resource. In the spring of 2009, the first section of community garden, occupying the former fenced-in horse paddock, was opened. This gated area now contains over 80 garden plots averaging 15' x 30'.  

The farm is ADA accessible, with a handicapped ramp leading to gardens that can be tended while sitting down for the elderly and those in wheelchairs. Various food banks rely on the food from the gardens, such as the Congregational Church, which gathers 900 lbs. of food per year.

 

Oh behalf of Veronica and her daughter Isabella, we wanted to say thank you to all of my coworkers that donated shoes to Isabella’s birthday shoe drive. Corporate collected over 130 pairs, my collection here in Austin, TX was 19. This certainly did give Isabella a boost in her goal of collecting 360 pairs. She is still determined to donate more shoes to the organization throughout the year. Her mother even said she would like to do a similar drive to collect blankets in the winter months. It is very refreshing to see this young lady with such a big heart that wants to help those in need.

Even though Isabella’s birthday has come and gone, Soles 4 Souls will gladly take your donations. So when the time comes to clean out your closets, please consider Soles 4 Souls as an option for your shoe donation. For more information, check out their website at http://www.soles4souls.org/

From Andrew Campagna

I thought I’d let you know what I’ve been doing at Metropolitan Ministries here in Tampa over the past five or six weeks to give back to those far less fortunate than my wife and I.

Metropolitan Ministries, an organization we have supported financially every year we’ve lived in Tampa,  helps the poor in many ways.  Metropolitan Ministries not only provides shelter, clothing and food to those in need, but also helps disadvantaged young people by providing middle and high school level education through which they have a better chance to become financially independent.

The GED program which Metropolitan Ministries runs has been very successful in that regard, and I have been volunteering three hours per week, every Tuesday, tutoring disadvantaged kids in math and reading skills in order to prepare them for the GED exam. 

Believe me, it’s been challenging given that many of these kids don’t even have the most basic  math and reading skills.  That said, it’s been very rewarding for me to see progress already being made with a couple of the kids I have worked with, and, as you know, it’s just great to give back.

A group of us from Kronos participated in helping Habitat for Humanity setup their ReStore.

ReStore locations sell repurposed, salvaged, or donated building materials to the public. The money received is put back into the Habitat for Humanity program. 

This was a chance for some of us to give back to our local community. While we work for Kronos, many of us live in the Southern New Hampshire area.

We were asked to stock shelves, paint the store in areas, and generally get the store ready for opening day.  We were not asked to do anything unexpected.

Habitat for Humanity provides safe, affordable housing for low income housing. The goal is to break the cycle of poverty and provide families an alternative to substandard housing.

Helping the Habitat Restore operation left me feeling like I helped more than just one person.
Because of their wide reach, I felt like I gave back to a community worth of people.

The folks working at the facility were very appreciative and marveled at all that got accomplished with so many hands willing to help.

My best friend’s daughter has an upcoming birthday, she will be 8 on April 21^st. She has one request and that is for those near and far to donate shoes to an orphanage, 360 pairs is the goal that she has set for herself. Her mother found the charity, Soles 4 Souls, that will take donated shoes and then distribute them to various organizations, including orphanages, within the US and around the world. I plan to clean out my closet and send as many shoes that I can. If you would like to help Isabella reach her goal, please continue reading!

Any type of shoe for both adults and children is accepted for this challenge. They can be either new or gently worn. You can learn more about the charity through the link provided below, as well as to locate a drop off facility near you. You may also ship your donation, and yes, I realize there are costs associated with this option. Isabella's mother said to think of $1 per shoe to help estimate shipping costs. They were able to ship 23 pairs of shoes for $17, and that included the box!

You will need to fill out a form and send it with your donation. You may download and print the form through the link listed below. 

When you submit your donation, please provide the following details on the form:

Organization: Happy Birthday Isabella!

Contact: Isabella Kimberly/RLOACS

Address: P.O. Box 528, Hardeeville, SC 29927

Phone#: 843-384-6920

If you have any questions about the challenge, you may contact her mother Veronica Kimberly at tvkimx2@hotmail.com.

Thank you in advance for helping Isabella reach her goal! Let’s help her get 360 pairs by April 21^st!

 

http://www.soles4souls.org/about/shipping_info.html

http://www.soles4souls.org/pdf/DonorInformationForm.pdf

____________________

Sarah Taylor | Training Specialist II | Kronos Incorporated

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Hello all!

 

 

 

My best friend’s daughter has an upcoming birthday, she will be 8 on April 21^st. She has one request and that is for those near and far to donate shoes to an orphanage, 360 pairs is the goal that she has set for herself. Her mother found the charity, Soles 4 Souls, that will take donated shoes and then distribute them to various organizations, including orphanages, within the US and around the world. I plan to clean out my closet and send as many shoes that I can. If you would like to help Isabella reach her goal, please continue reading!

 

 

 

Any type of shoe for both adults and children is accepted for this challenge. They can be either new or gently worn. You can learn more about the charity through the link provided below, as well as to locate a drop off facility near you. You may also ship your donation, and yes, I realize there are costs associated with this option. Isabella's mother said to think of $1 per shoe to help estimate shipping costs. They were able to ship 23 pairs of shoes for $17, and that included the box!

 

You will need to fill out a form and send it with your donation. You may download and print the form through the link listed below. 

 

When you submit your donation, please provide the following details on the form:

 

 

 

Organization: Happy Birthday Isabella!

 Contact: Isabella Kimberly/RLOACS

 Address: P.O. Box 528, Hardeeville, SC 29927

 Phone#: 843-384-6920

 

If you have any questions about the challenge, you may contact her mother Veronica Kimberly at tvkimx2@hotmail.com.

 

Thank you in advance for helping Isabella reach her goal! Let’s help her get 360 pairs by April 21^st!

 

http://www.soles4souls.org/about/shipping_info.html

 

 

 

http://www.soles4souls.org/pdf/DonorInformationForm.pdf

 

 

 

My daughter’s birthday always falls around the MLK holiday weekend.  Over the last several years, this holiday has become a day of service around the Birmingham area.  So, this year, as Emma anticipated turning seventeen, she decided to have a group of friends get together for a service project.  After some research, she selected Habitat for Humanity, which is building a brand new home for the Williams family, within only blocks of where her dad grew up.  The girls all came over the night before for regular birthday festivities – cake, presents, and such – and were less than bright-eyed at 630 this morning!  But they all got moving and we were the first group at the jobsite at 730. 

 

We’ve had so much rain in Birmingham, lately, that the build progress had been delayed.  Although we all thought we’d be framing walls, we arrived to find a muddy site with only the foundation walls in place.   It was a cold, clear morning, and we huddled together as other volunteers continued to stream in, including the Williams family themselves.  We took to hand as many shovels, rakes, and gloves as were available.  We moved cement blocks, shoveled mud, cleared debris, leveled the plot and toted and stacked lots of lumber!  We had a great time working alongside so many others from all around the city.  The girls did a fabulous job.  There was not one wimper, sigh, or complaint.  They wanted to do more, lift more, dig lower.  They were even disappointed when the morning ended, but our work was done.  We left the jobsite prepared for the next crew to start setting capblocks on the block wall foundation. 

 

Just before we left, the job foreman gathered the crowd to express his thanks and then called Emma to the middle of the circle and led us all in a Happy Birthday serenade.    What a fabulous day.  All of us muddy, happy, and tired, standing on the sidewalk and singing.  I couldn’t help feeling a little unworthy at the end of the day – I had received many more gifts this day than I had given.

 

Susan Clark, Employee Development