Week of Service initiatives support company's
ongoing commitment to customers and communities
NEW
YORK, Sept. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- National
Grid's Project C community commitment initiative kicks off its
third year by expanding the company's annual day of service to a
week of service with more than 2,000 company employee volunteers
engaging in 200 events taking place in neighborhoods across
New York. This year's theme – Live
together. Grow together. – highlights the importance of creating
meaningful change and lasting bonds.
"I am excited to join with colleagues in our local neighborhoods
alongside our incredible community partners to kick off our third
year of Project C with a full week of service across New York," said Rudy
Wynter, President, National Grid New York. "I am amazed at
the impact we've had over the past two years -- from helping
beautify parks to providing access to technology to exposing
students and young adults to STEM and clean energy careers to
connecting small businesses to resources. All of our work is rooted
in our deep commitment to New
York, and we look forward to doing even more."
Project C, funded by National Grid's shareholders, supports
people and communities in collaboration with local partners by
revitalizing neighborhoods, investing in beautification programs
for nonprofits, faith-based, arts and cultural institutions;
supporting climate justice and social equity programs; and by
assisting small businesses and local families. This year marks the
third anniversary of what has previously been a day of service. Due
to its positive reception in communities across the state, and
overwhelming support from partners and engagement of National Grid
employee volunteers, the program is expanding to a week of
service.
Dedicated groups of National Grid employees have spent months
planning and partnering with nonprofits, schools, community
centers, parks and other groups to deliver the activities scheduled
for Sept. 11 to Sept. 15. In
addition, employees are pledging to complete Acts of Kindness
throughout the Week of Service, including collecting and donating
books, food and clothing to a local charity, and donating blood to
a blood bank.
In New York City:
Building upon a long-standing partnership with CityParks Foundation
"It's My Park," volunteers are
cleaning up, caring for flower beds, planting trees, painting
fences and benches, and maintaining handball courts at various
parks, including Brooklyn's
Nehemiah Park in Brownsville and Lenape Playground, in Marine Park,
and in Queens Flushing Meadows
Corona Park. Volunteers will also join the Staten Island Zoo staff
on improvement and maintenance projects for the Children's
Center.
Additionally, employees will volunteer their time to prepare,
serve, and deliver meals in collaboration with Florence E. Smith
Senior Services Center in Astoria,
Queens, and the Brooklyn Community
Food Distribution Center for Campaign Against Hunger, NYC. Other
activities include partnering with the NYC Administration of
Children's Services, Family Enrichment Centers to organize
inventory in community pantries and help with garden maintenance in
preparation for community-planned activities. Also, at the Brooklyn
Central Public Library, volunteers will greet patrons, help provide
program support and handout giveaways, and, NIA Brooklyn will
host National Grid volunteers to distribute backpacks and school
supplies to support 110 local students and their families.
On Long Island:
Employees will volunteer at the United Veterans Beacon House, which
provides compassionate care, clean and safe housing, and meaningful
services for veterans and veteran families with physical
disabilities, PTSD, traumatic brain injury, mental health issues,
and addiction. Volunteers will beautify the exterior of a veteran's
home by planting flowers, trimming trees, removing bushes, and
pressure-washing the house. Employees will also help clean and wash
service dogs with America's VetDogs. The organization trains dogs
to provide enhanced mobility and independence for veterans.
Volunteers will support 'Washing Cars for a Cause' to benefit
the Safe Center, which empowers women who are victims of domestic
and family violence. Additional volunteers will help build a new
home for Habitat for Humanity of Long
Island in an eastern Long
Island community where housing is needed. Partnering with
Pink Tie volunteers will sort, pack and deliver food to local
pantries, working to feed families in need. Volunteers will also
work at the Cornell Cooperative Suffolk County Farm gardening and
building a wheelchair ramp.
Employees will also complete an Act of Kindness providing
handwritten cards for veterans with General Needs Ltd. which
provides clothing, shoes and food for veterans. Every box of shoes
donated to a veteran includes a handwritten note. This is a
continuation of National Grid's ongoing partnership with General
Needs Ltd. at the Suffolk County Veterans Stand Down event held
earlier this month.
In Western New York: The
week of service will kick off on Sept.
11 at Buffalo Naval and Military Park, where employees will
use their expertise in a variety of ways, including welding and
electrical work, as well as scraping and painting as part of
continuing efforts to recondition the historic ships docked
there.
Throughout the week, employees will deliver Meals on Wheels in
Erie and Niagara counties and partake in maintenance
and landscaping work at various sites across the region, including
the Buffalo Zoo. They also will prepare meals across Erie County with staff members from FeedMore
WNY and at St. Luke's Mission of Mercy. Additional volunteers will
be on hand to do the same in Niagara
County at hunger relief and social services agency Heart,
Love and Soul.
Additionally, employees will be collaborating with Buffalo City
Mission, the Tool Library, Habitat for Humanity, the Teacher's Desk
and Back to Basics Ministries, all with an eye toward helping those
agencies achieve their goals and provide resources to those in
need.
In Central New York:
Company volunteers will help to restore the steps at Jesuit
Landing, a historic area of Onondaga Lake Park in Liverpool that was once lost to nature.
Keeping with beautification efforts, volunteers in northern
New York will participate in
riverfront cleanups at Higley Flow State Park and on the St.
Lawrence Seaway at Wellesley
Island. In the Mohawk Valley, National Grid volunteers will
give their time to property beautification projects at House of
Good Shepherd and Hope House.
Other volunteer teams will prepare and serve meals with local
soup kitchens and Meals On Wheels, beautify the grounds at animal
rescue shelters and group homes, and help nonprofits with logistics
and preparations for upcoming special events.
A volunteer team led by National Grid's Veterans Employee
Resource Group will work on the grounds at Clear Path for Veterans,
an organization that provides supportive services to local
veterans.
In Eastern New York:
National Grid's Schenectady
location on Broadway will host safety and robotic maintenance
demonstrations as well as career exploration opportunities for
students from several regional educational programs including:
BOCES, the Schenectady SEAT Center, Girls, Inc., Northern Rivers
and the Schenectady School
District. Students will explore career paths in electric and gas
operations, engineering, design, customer and community engagement
and more.
"We value our partnership with National Grid and for the
networking and other opportunities that they provide to our
students, who learn about careers available to them through events
like the Week of Service," said Capital Region BOCES Senior
Executive Officer Joseph P. Dragone,
Ph.D.
In Troy, at Friar Park and Saratoga
Springs' Yaddo, volunteers will clean up trails and perform
general maintenance. In Queensbury, employees will support the Cole's
Woods by trimming branches, installing new equipment and
beautifying the area. Additional projects will support local
community agencies including: the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society,
Schenectady City Mission, Patroon Land Farm, Bring On The Spectrum
and others.
Project C is National Grid's Community Commitment to:
- Build a better future by Connecting our communities to clean
and sustainable energy.
- Care for our neighborhoods and their revitalization.
- Compassionately address the challenges our customers face,
including environmental justice and social equity.
- Create the workforce that will help build New York's clean energy delivery system.
- Collaborate with our customers, partners, stakeholders and so
many others to deliver the clean, fair, resilient, and affordable
energy future.
Since launching Project C in September
2021, National Grid has supported 100,000 local businesses,
launched 1,000 community partnerships, planted or donated 2,300
trees, trained 3,400 workers to grow the clean energy workforce,
and adopted 60 parks to revitalize gathering spaces. In addition,
employees have volunteered more than 34,000 hours in their
New York communities.
As part of the company's Responsible Business Charter, National
Grid has committed to amassing 500,000 volunteer hours by 2030. In
addition, across New York state,
the company contributes more than $5
million annually to community-based organizations through
its Corporate Citizenship efforts, including the National Grid
Foundation.
Along with volunteerism, Project C focuses on four key
areas: clean energy and sustainability; workforce development;
neighborhood investment and community engagement; and environmental
justice and social equity. Click here for more about National
Grid's Project C.
About National Grid
National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and
clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people
through our networks in New York
and Massachusetts. National Grid
is transforming our electricity and natural gas networks with
smarter, cleaner, and more resilient energy solutions to meet the
goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
For more information, please visit our website,
follow us on Twitter, watch us on YouTube,
friend us on Facebook, and find our photos
on Instagram.
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SOURCE National Grid