While most companies have a mission statement, at Charter we’re guided by something called “Our Charter,” affectionately known by the team as The Blue Book. Among other things, The Blue Book includes all of our Principles, one of which is “Make a Difference.” While we all try our best to embody this Principle daily, there’s one day a year when the entire company dedicates all of our energy to making a difference in our local communities. On this day, coined Make a Difference Day, we come together not as salespeople, builders, or designers but as a group of people dedicated to giving our time, talents and enthusiasm to positively impact the lives of others by embarking on one large community service project.
As with much else this year, Make a Difference Day 2020 was not able to go off as originally planned due to COVID-19. However, rather than cancel the day all together, we decided to take a different approach. This year, we committed to giving every member of the Charter team the afternoon of October 23rd off of work, and $100 to put towards the organization, cause or project that was most important to them. Here are just a few of the ways our team members at Charter were able to make a difference this year:
-Planted 100 new trees at a local community park
-Participated in the Keep PA Beautiful program to clean up along the Horse Shoe Trail
-Organized a neighborhood coat drive that collected 118 coats to be donated to One Warm Coat
-Volunteered at the Brown Bag Project at Saint Anne’s Church in Lancaster
-Participated with the West Shore Meals on Wheels
-Spent the day volunteering at Aaron’s Acres
-Donated and distributed 200+ lbs of food through the Bethesda Mission
-Volunteered at Greystone Manor, a nonprofit organization that provides service to children and adults with special needs
-Put together activity kits for Caitlin’s Smiles, an organization that provides support to children hospitalized with terminal/chronic illnesses
-Cleaned up the Sewickley Community Center
-Spent the day at the Opportunity House and Second Street Learning Center, a homeless shelter that serves the low income community of Reading
Although this year was much different than previous Make a Difference Day events, we all ended the day with the same feelings of gratitude and accomplishment that we always do. We missed all being together, but are proud of our contributions to the local community and thankful to work for a company that allows us the opportunity to serve others.
