|  | 18 October 2007
Esso employees will swap their normal work duties for a day volunteering in the community next week.
The George Gray Centre in Maffra, Sale Elderly Citizens Village (Ashleigh House) and Kilmany Uniting Care will receive lots of helping hands from Esso employees next Tuesday 23 October when the company runs its annual employee volunteering “Day of Caring” program.
Gardening will be the focus for the volunteers at The George Gray Centre and Ashleigh House. The volunteers at Kilmany Uniting Care will help the mobile “Bush Link” toy library with cataloguing, cleaning and repairing toys.
Mr Ian Hunt, CEO George Gray Centre said “Esso’s Day of Caring is a great way for us to organise a large group of volunteers to help with essential tasks like weeding, planting and new paving.”
This is the second year that Esso employees have volunteered at Sale Elderly Citizens Village and this year they will help restore and plant a new garden at the entrance and eastern side of Ashleigh House. Mrs Brenda Burditt, Chairperson, Sale Elderly Citizens Village said “The Esso support is much welcomed by our residents who get a lot of pleasure from our garden.”
Mrs Tracey Gibson, Assistant Director, Kilmany Uniting Care, said “We are grateful to Esso and its employees who are giving up their valuable work time to help our Bush Link toy library service that supports families in South Gippsland.”
The Day of Caring is one of the largest corporate volunteering programs run in partnership with the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Fund (LMCF)/United Way. The program involves 270 employees joining volunteer teams to work for a day to assist 27 community groups. In total, the volunteers will provide the equivalent of 11 months worth of work hours to the community groups.
This is the fifth year that the company has run the volunteering program, which has expanded to cover all its major sites including Longford and the Barry Beach Marine Terminal. Other groups to benefit from the Day of Caring include Australian Red Cross, MS Society, Salvation Army and The Cancer Council.
LMCF Chief Executive Officer Andrew Chappell said, “Corporate volunteering programs provide valuable support and savings to community groups and we are pleased to work with Esso to help community services in Gippsland.”
Mike Kunzig, Esso Longford Plants Manager, said “Esso’s employee volunteering program is an example of one of the ways that the company supports local community groups in Gippsland.
“We are pleased to offer our employees the opportunity to volunteer and provide tangible assistance to local community groups,” he said.
The Day of Caring program was a highly commendable winner in the recent 2007 Volunteering Australia Award for Excellence in Corporate Volunteering. Julie Pollard, Chief Executive Officer Volunteering Australia said, “Esso’s employee volunteering efforts have been recognised as an outstanding example of best practice, innovation and community contribution.”
Further information:
Mr Ian Hunt, CEO
George Gray Centre (Maffra)
Phone 03 5147 2221
Mrs Brenda Burditt, Chairperson
Sale Elderly Citizens Village
Phone 03 5144 1995 or 0407 441 995
Mrs Tracey Gibson, Assistant Director CEO
Kilmany Uniting Care (South Gippsland)
Phone 03 5662 5150 or 03 5682 1162
Esso Day of Caring:
Lisa Trood, Community Relations Manager
Phone 03 9270 3440
| |
|
|
|
| |
