At PMG, it is important for us to get out and give back to the communities that have been so supportive of us. We closed the office at noon on Friday, June 15 and sent everyone out to volunteer in our local communities for our first-ever company-wide Day of Giving. Employees in our Fort Worth office were able to choose from eight different locations, and everyone in our Austin office went to Mobile Loaves and Fishes.
There were opportunities to volunteer with animals, plants, and people. If someone was interested in working with animals, one group went to the Chuck Silcox Animal Center. They were able to help clean cages for the animals and spend some time walking them and giving the animals some much needed individual attention. The Chuck Silcox Animal Center is very crowded right now, and if you volunteer for them, you can adopt one of their animals for free.
If someone was interested in the beautification of the city, one group went to BRiT (the Botanical Research Institute of Texas) and planted grasses and mulched around the clock that you see when you drive into Botanic Gardens. Another group went to Fort Worth Parks and Rec and helped weed and clean out plant beds.
We have a former employee who now works at the YMCA so we were excited about the potential to partner with them on our Day of Giving. She was able to arrange for us to help in two different local YMCAs. The first group was at the Ryan Place YMCA where PMGers painted the Youth Zone which is a multipurpose room for programs at the Y. Another group of PMGers went to the North Park YMCA where they helped by building storage drawers, organizing baseball jerseys with corresponding hats, making insect and animal templates for kids to draw on and making “rock daddies” by hot gluing rocks onto paper to make them look like human figures.
“Youth in YMCA programs are taught the core values of honesty, respect, responsibility and caring. Programs are designed to help youth establish healthy, productive behavior that will enable them to succeed and serve. YMCAs make kids strong in spirit, mind, and body through established developmental assets.”
Another group of PMGers in Fort Worth went to Cook Children’s and did a deep clean in several of their playrooms. PMG employees helped fill a great need on Day of Giving by spending several hours, cleaning and sanitizing playrooms on individual floors. “The playrooms are a great escape from treatment and procedures for our patients during their stay at Cook Children’s, and it is crucial to their health that these areas be cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis.”
The group of PMGers that went to Mission Arlington helped to sort food in the Food Pantry and to sort clothes for the Clothing Room. We’ve worked with Mission Arlington before and were very excited to have the opportunity to give back to them in a different way. “Many of the working families that come to Mission Arlington are barely getting by. The clothing you donate helps children feel more like other children at school, allows adults to dress appropriately at job interviews and provides warmth to all in the winter with coats. We sort the clothes by seasons and make them available to families of all shapes and sizes, free of charge.”
The last group in Fort Worth volunteered at MHMR of Tarrant County. They assisted in putting together some picnic tables for group homes for some of the clients. There is limited seating outside at all the houses so the picnic tables were necessary to provide more outdoor seating. “MHMR Tarrant has improved the lives of people with health care needs, such as substance use disorder, psychiatric disorders, and intellectual delays and disabilities. Using innovative approaches, MHMR partners with individuals and families, and collaborates with other community organizations to provide services and a hopeful future.”
Our Austin office volunteered at Mobile Loaves and Fishes. Mobile Loaves & Fishes’ food truck volunteers hit the streets seven nights a week, 365 days a year to serve the homeless, delivering food, clothing, hygiene products, and other life-sustaining items. With the support of more than 19,000 volunteers and over five million meals served, Mobile Loaves & Fishes is the largest prepared feeding program for the homeless and working poor in Austin, Texas. Our volunteers washed trailers for the residences. And some of our team also helped individual residents.
When we asked people to tell us their favorite part about volunteering some of the quotes were:
“It was really great to help. I personally didn’t realize how much of a need there was in the hospital, so it was an excellent and eye-opening experience. I’m very grateful to have been able to visit.”
“Honestly, I loved every part of Day of Giving. Would love to do it again.”
“I felt like we were able to make a tangible impact in the few hours we had at the YMCA. The YMCA employees were so appreciative of our work. I would love to go back and help them more.”
“The teamwork involved in helping to create a better space for the people at YMCA. It was fun working and interacting with people you don’t usually talk to on a daily basis!”
“I really liked that I got to volunteer with a group of people that I don’t usually work with. Day of Giving was a fun bonding experience!”
We plan to make a Day of Giving an annually recurring event at PMG and look forward to more successful days spent in our communities. To end this post with an Oscar Wilde quote “The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.”