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On November 5th, 2009, seventy Pioneers, Partners and Guests gathered at the
Publick House in Sturbridge, Massachusetts to celebrate the 87th
Annual meeting of the William J.
Denver Chapter of Verizon Pioneers.
This year’s theme was Community Partnerships where seven agencies were
honored for their community service and partnership with Pioneer board
members and volunteers. Among the honorees were
Jeremiah’s Inn, Worcester Mass., Sage Books, Southampton, Mass.,
New Hope,
Inc. Attleboro & Worcester Mass., Springfield Forward, Springfield, Mass.,
FOCus, Providence, RI, Because he believes, Woonsocket, Mass., and the Pink
Flamingos, Leominster, Mass. The
agencies received a monetary donation on behalf of the Pioneers and each
took a moment to tell us a bit about their organization and their
partnership with Pioneers.
Verizon President, Donna Cupelo was the keynote speaker who talked about the
value of volunteerism, how it impacts the communities Verizon serves and the
overall impact we make in our communities and the world.
Incoming President, Chris Casino, read a statement by the Verizon Pioneer
Vice President, Steve Kohn, on the state of Pioneers, volunteering and a
thank you to our Chapter for a job well done in 2009.
President Deb Foley reviewed the year’s accomplishments with a slide show of
project descriptions and pictures from throughout the year.
She began the year in January with the delivery of Season’s Reading’s
Books, receiving the Chapter Excellence award for the 2nd year by
the National Pioneer organization and ending in December with the upcoming
delivery of food, holiday baskets, pajamas and books from this year’s
Season’s Readings drive taking place in December. In between, the Denver
Chapter and nine clubs have taken on thirty key projects impacting many
lives in many of the 250 communities served by the chapter throughout
Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
The overwhelming comment from the agencies who attended, and many of the
guests, was that they knew all that Pioneers did for them or were aware of
their individual club’s activities, but was amazed by all we do for others
as well.
As volunteering is what we do best, each attendee was asked to bring a box
of cake mix and a container of frosting to help us build Birthday Bags as
our volunteer project. When
folks arrived they were directed to a long table and given a reusable bag to
fill with items needed to provide a Birthday Party for a child. Plates,
candles, napkins, cups, Pioneer pencil, reading book, and beanie babies
donated by Katy Foley were just some of the items placed in the bag.
Jeremiah’s Inn, New Hope, Inc., and Focus were the recipients of the fifty
bags created that day and they were most appreciative of the additional
donation.
The day culminated with our installation of officers for 2010, a wonderful
video on the importance of teamwork and incoming President Chris Casino’s
vision for 2010. There were many raffle winners and a wonderful buffet
luncheon was served by the Inn.
Everyone left uplifted, and with a renewed sense of purpose and dedication
for what lies ahead in 2010.
Following are the key projects and activities undertaken in 2009.
Season’s Readings 2009 & 2010
Holyoke Soldiers Home, Veterans Hospitals in Northampton, MA and Providence,
RI.
Sage Books-Beanies for Balad
American Heart Association – Go Red For Women
Pioneer Annual Meeting – Backpack and Tree Planting projects
March Smartness – Tech Savvy Competition
New Hope, Inc. – 30 Year Gala, Batterer Intervention Forum, Gourmet Guys
Jeremiah’s Inn – Cooking Monthly Meals
Pink Flamingos - First LEGO League World Festival Invitation Winner
Kevin Kane Benefit Dance – Scholarships for graduating seniors of Ashland
High and Keefe Technical schools going into the field of Social Service.
Hug-a-Bears, Heart Pillows and child size Have-a-Hearts
Because he Lives Ministry – Food Pantry and Kitchen
Worcester Tree Initiative – Funded 50 trees; coordinated planting efforts
Fairy Houses – Literacy, Imagination & Outdoor Activities
Seedlings Project – Scholastic Books & Seedling Planting
Shower for the Shelter – Corporate collection of items needed for the
shelters
Operation Cookie Drop – Girl Scout Cookies for the Troops
Exercise your Mind and Body – Program utilizing gym/health equipment and a
mobile PC Lab with 4 laptops.
Camp Badger – Volunteered at the Vice President’s project
Cast for Kids – Day of fishing & fun for terminally sick children.
American Cancer Society - Relay for Life
Happy Feet Sneaker Project – 50 pairs of sneaker & socks donated to children
Fairy Books series - Literacy, Imagination & Outdoor Activities
Back to School - Dictionary, Thesauruses & Atlas distributions, Teacher Aid
Boxes, Power Up To Read, Thinkfinity
Springfield Forward – Tell me Your Story program
Playground Maps, Solar Systems & Games – Painted on school playgrounds
Talking Books – Machine Repair
I also want to thank my board & their boards/volunteers for 3 years of
faithful volunteer service.
Thank You for taking on the sometimes daunting and overwhelming tasks I set
before you. You always pulled through and made it look easy.
Thank you for being a dedicated group of individuals. Without your
dedication and hard work, we would never have accomplished all that we have
over the past 3 years.
Thank You for being my Friends! Your encouragement has kept me on track and
your smiles warm my heart!
Sincerely,
Deb Foley
Past Chapter President
WJ Denver Chapter, Verizon Pioneers
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