W.J. Denver Chapter #20

On March 26, 2011 the Wm J Denver Chapter held  “A Day of Caring” celebration.

 We partnered with the Sherwin Chapter and received a $20,000.00 Verizon Pioneer Centennial year grant to support this effort. On this day we partnered with four social service organizations across Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  At each location we sponsored a luncheon and a donation of service,  supplies or personal items that the organization needed.  The purpose of this day was to bring a bright spot of happiness into a person’s life, providing the organization with needed  items while engaging Verizon Pioneers and employees in a large Verizon Foundation sponsored project.  External affairs managers were present and engaged at each location, photographers and videographers captured the events for future publication by the Foundation, Press Releases were issued  to local news media as well as the Pioneer Press and Verizon Pioneer Communicator.In Western Mass Pioneers served lunch to 180 homeless clients. In addition a donation of computer lab equipment was made to the new Verizon branded computer lab which will assist with job and housing search and as an educational resource. An introduction to the Verizon Foundation’s Thinkfinity®  and Pioneer websites was made during the lab demos given by Pioneers.In Boston the Sherwin Chapter Pioneers provide dinner for 350 veterans. Each veteran l received a bag of toiletries and underwear. They also purchased speakers for the television set they had donated to the center last year.Central MA Pioneers spent the day refurbishing a chapel and meeting room located on the grounds . Over 50 volunteers provided a hands on work day installing a heavy theatrical curtain for sound control, a projector and screen. Lunch was served during the day. Over 400 Veterans will be impacted by this project.In Rhode Island Pioneers provided a luncheon for over 70 Veterans In addition to the luncheon a companion radio was purchased and installed for each of the 121 rooms in the home. Companion radios are a community based subscription which allows the soldiers to listen to a variety of music from the era they choose at any time.

In February 2011, the students at Elm Park Community School and Lincoln Street School were the happy recipients of gift certificates for new sneakers.  Dictionaries, atlases and thesauruses were also given to the students.