Feature Story
|
Community service.Sun employees provide back-to-school gear to kids around the world. 15.Oct.02--Thousands of underprivileged children returned to school with backpacks full of back-to-school supplies, thanks to the generosity of Sun Microsystems, Inc. employees who contributed to a "Back to School Drive" organized by Sun's Global Community Development Community Action Volunteer (CAV) program. Despite the difficult economy, Sun employees donated 975 loaded backpacks, valued at $57 each, resulting in a total donation of $55,575, an increase of 45 percent from 2001 to 2002. Sun employees over the past three years have donated $118,260 worth of supplies and backpacks to thousands of underprivileged children. Drives were conducted at Sun campuses around the world. Although the drives were unique to local communities, they all were successful in providing well-equipped backpacks to needy children. The San Francisco Bay area campuses partnered for the fifth consecutive year with The Family Giving Tree, and Resource Area for Teachers. Working with companies such as Sun, these organizations attempted to fill more than 5000 new backpacks with school supplies for students in the San Francisco Bay area. Sun was awarded the first-ever "Golden Backpack Award" for providing 715 backpacks, the most among participating organizations. Sun's extensive Bay Area campaign involved 56 "Back-To-School Ambassadors," who posted "wish cards" at 46 Sun facilities located in 10 cities. The Broomfield, Colo. and Burlington, Mass. campuses, along with sites in Scotland and Canada, have organized "Back to School Drives" for the past three years. Each drive is tailored to the needs of the community. At Broomfield, a team of Sun employees selected four local organizations and the drive kicked off with an ice cream social to bring awareness to the campus. Funds raised from the cool kickoff idea were used to purchase school supplies that filled 165 backpacks with back-to-school gear. Employees in Scotland adopted an entire class from the Bridgend Primary School, which is located near the Sun facility, and provided backpacks for the entire school year. The drive is representative of the long-term, direct relationship between Sun and Bridgend that provides long-term benefits for students. Canada raised "Back to School Drive" funds through a raffle. Tickets were sold to employees for prizes donated by different Sun departments. The Canadian campus raised enough money to distribute 125 backpacks to five charitable organizations located across the country from Calgary to Montreal. In Burlington, Mass., employees had fun with their fund-raiser, devising a "Sesame Street" theme with updates on "Ze Count" of funds raised. Making sure to make every penny count, Ben Cordes and Preetam Alluri drove 30 miles to the Nashua, N.H. OfficeMax for school supplies to ensure they received maximum value for their money. Employees delivered backpacks filled with everything from correction fluid to lunch boxes to five agencies, including People Helping People in Burlington, Alternative House in Lowell, Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in Lowell, Children's Home in Nashua, and the Marlboro Food Pantry. Efforts by the community relations organization and other groups across Sun continue to give life to the vision of "No Child Left Behind," a vision that has been embodied in recently enacted federal legislation. By their consistent support of community efforts, Sun employees continue to succeed in providing resources needed to empower students around the world. Thanks to their efforts, thousands of backpacks helped underprivileged school children get "in gear" for the academic year. | ||||||
 | | | |||||
