NORWALK, Conn., April 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Diageo North
America this week continued the company's long tradition of
community service by performing 700 hours of concentrated community
service at Connecticut's Beardsley
Zoo in Bridgeport. Nearly 100 employees from Diageo North
America's finance team put their construction and gardening skills
to work at Connecticut's only
zoo. The event represented the largest volunteer group the
facility has hosted this year.
"What could be better than working with great people on
Earth Day and completing a green
project? Thanks to our volunteer friends at Diageo, rain now will
go into the ground instead of running into a storm sewer," said
Gregg Dancho, Zoo Director. "Many
hands helped to create a new farmyard amphitheater and complete a
general farmyard makeover today. What a great example of corporate
partnership."
Employees primarily focused on the zoo's New England Farmyard,
where they worked to build, restore and refresh the area. The
volunteers built a new performance stage with stadium seating,
installed a new roof on the rabbit hut, enhanced the goat
enclosure, painted a cow statue outside the farmyard, and mulched
and planted the flower beds nearby.
"At Diageo, giving back to our communities is woven into the
fabric of our company, and the nearly 100 volunteers who
contributed to the work at the zoo embody that core value," said
Mike Mulhall, Controller, Diageo
North America. "Over the years, we have helped many worthy
organizations near our Norwalk
headquarters. This year we chose to return to the zoo again
because of the meaningful impact they have on our community and the
environment through education, conservation, research and
recreation."
This is the tenth annual community service event for Diageo's
finance team, and their second time partnering with the zoo.
Two years ago Diageo sent an equally robust volunteer team to work
on nearly a dozen different improvement projects, including helping
to prepare for the zoo's Pampas Plains South American Adventure
exhibit. Last year this same team undertook the largest
restoration event in the history of the Norwalk Land Trust's Farm
Creek Nature Preserve.
In line with Diageo's ongoing commitment to environmental
sustainability, Diageo employees celebrate Earth Month with a range
of events and activities across North America. Events are
focused on conservation and community, and include: New York and Norwalk employees taking on New York Cares'
Forest Park project for New York
Spring Cares Day; a day of Spring clean-up at Short Beach in Stratford, Connecticut, which is known for
providing critical habitat for wildlife; as well as education and
engagement sessions, competitions, recycling drives for batteries
and E-waste, and a range of volunteering activities across Diageo's
North America facilities and
offices.
Diageo's commitment to community service extends across
North America with hundreds of
Diageo employees volunteering thousands of hours each year and
contributing to numerous fundraising activities. Local Diageo
employees have provided support for Norwalk Land Trust's Farm Creek
Nature Preserve, Norwalk's Open
Door Shelter and New York City's
Church of the Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen, among others.
Nationally, Diageo is known for responding swiftly in times of need
and, through its Spirit of the Americas program, has completed
massive relief missions to areas impacted by natural disasters
including Afghanistan,
Haiti, Southeast Asia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, New
Orleans, Oklahoma,
Texas, New York, New
Jersey, Colorado and, most
recently, the Philippines. Diageo
proudly offers a volunteering policy that provides full time and
reduced hour employees of Diageo North America one week leave each
year to volunteer.
Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo has
a proud history of over 80 years as Connecticut's only zoo. It is committed
to the preservation of endangered animals and is actively
developing strategies that will protect species and preserve their
wild habitats. For more information on Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo visit:
www.BeardsleyZoo.org.
PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST.
About Diageo
Diageo (Dee-AH-Gee-O) is the
world's leading premium drinks business with an outstanding
collection of beverage alcohol brands across spirits, beer and
wine. These brands include Johnnie
Walker, Crown Royal, J&B, Windsor, Buchanan's and Bushmills whiskies, Smirnoff,
Ciroc and Ketel One vodkas, Baileys, Captain Morgan, Tanqueray,
Guinness, Beaulieu Vineyard and
Sterling Vineyards Wines.
Diageo is a global company, with its products sold in more than
180 countries around the world. The company is listed on both the
New York Stock Exchange (DEO) and the London Stock Exchange (DGE).
For more information about Diageo, its people, brands, and
performance, visit us at Diageo.com. For our global resource that
promotes responsible drinking through the sharing of best practice
tools, information and initiatives, visit DRINKiQ.com.
Celebrating life, every day, everywhere.
SOURCE Diageo