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Each year, our employees dedicate thousands of hours to charitable causes and organizations. While not part of their jobs, volunteering is at the core of our company’s culture and is just one way our employees give back to the communities in which they live and work. We are committed to being part of the fabric of our state, and that commitment will never waver.
In the past year APS employees, friends and families have walked, climbed, bowled and cleaned all in the name of charity. They’ve been waiters and elves as well as philanthropists assisting their fellow humans.
“Every charitable event and project APS employees and their families show up en masse. It’s a testament to something that’s so intrinsic to our company. It’s hard to put into words, but our people truly are Team APS,” said Maria Maskell, volunteer coordinator. “Our employees do so much good charitable work, the company goal is to acknowledge and honor each of them.”
One such group of employees, better known as the APS Clown Troupe, has brought laughter and smiles to Arizona events for the past 19 years. The troupe has logged more than 40,000 hours of performances. While the clowns give first priority for their performances to organizations involving children, the elderly, disabled and disadvantaged, they also perform in nearly every community parade in Arizona and northern New Mexico including the Fiesta Bowl Parade, APS Fiesta of Lights and Parada del Sol.
The APS Volunteer Program is active in the more than 200 cities and towns in Arizona served by APS as well as northwestern New Mexico, where APS is a major employer. All it takes for a community, school or other nonprofit organization to benefit from the APS Volunteer Program is the presence of a single employee or retiree who wants to contribute his or her time and talents to help others.
Points of Light Foundation Finalist
In 2007, the APS Volunteer Program was named a finalist by the Points of Light Foundation for its Award for Excellence in Workplace Volunteer Programs. The recognition honors the more than 130,000 hours of volunteer time donated by employees to more than 400 charitable, cultural and educational organizations and programs throughout Arizona and New Mexico. |
APS employees, friends and family donated more than 130,000 hours in 2007.
Here’s a partial list of the many projects and hours invested by APS volunteers. In many instances, these charitable projects span more than a decade, bringing annual support to nonprofits. And frequently, APS volunteers are leaders setting the course for these events. But the list, which isn’t comprehensive, doesn’t begin to describe the hard work of our volunteers:
- American Cancer Society – In February 2007, over 400 APS employees, friends and family members participated in the Climb to Conquer Cancer at Phoenix’s South Mountain Park. In August, nearly 50 APS employees, friends and family members made the 7-mile trek up the Arizona Snowbowl near Flagstaff. Through these events, participants raised more than $30,000 for the American Cancer Society. APS has participated for more than 20 years.
- American Diabetes Association – APS volunteers have been instrumental in the planning and implementation of the ADA’s key fundraising events – Step Out to Fight Diabetes, Tour de Cure and Team Diabetes. The Power Peddlers, APS’ bicycle team help plan and participate in the Tour de Cure, and other APS employees served on planning committees. Team APS has contributed more than $25,000 in donations and in-kind services during 2007.
- American Heart Association – in 2007, more than 25 Team APS members participated in the Heart Walk, collecting nearly $11,000. These funds supported research, education and community outreach by the AHA.
- Arizona Trail Association – APS volunteers created a piece of Arizona that will be enjoyed for year to come when they constructed a new section of the Arizona Trail near Superior in February 2007. Twenty-two APS employees, friends and family members made the three-mile hike to the work site and worked together to move rock and brush, dig the trail, build the edge and brush the trail. The Arizona Trail is an 800-mile non-motorized border-to-border route between Mexico and Utah.
- Back-to-School Clothing Drive Association – APS volunteers impacted the lives of nearly 5,000 low-income children through this organization by distributing clothes, shoes and a back-pack filled with personal hygiene items. APS has participated for more than 10 years, and APS employees serve on the board.
- Day for Downtown – APS volunteers joined a city-wide effort to beautify downtown Phoenix producing 3,600 community service hours to 33 non-profit organizations and schools. APS employees partnered with Booker T. Washington Child Development Center for a Literacy Project. Booker T. Washington is a comprehensive Head Start program for 192 pre-school children from low income families. Total value of sponsorships, in-kinds donations and service to the community through A Day for Downtown equals $169,072.
- Hunger and Homelessness – APS Volunteers hosted a summer and a holiday food drive and collected a total of more than $6,000 and 1,300 cans. During November many employees and their families volunteered at a local food bank or for an organization that supported homelessness issues. During National Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week (Nov. 11-17), an APS employee spent 24 hours at Phoenix area homeless facilities as part of a unique Homeless Immersion Experience organized by the Maricopa Association of Governments Continuum of Care Regional Committee on Homelessness.
- Junior Achievement – APS volunteers are directly involved in the education process by being in the classroom and teaching students about topics such as entrepreneurship, personal finance, career exploration and economics.
- Volunteers also participated in the Hula Bowl, an annual bowl-a-thon, in which APS employees raised $7,400 in 2007 to send over 200 Arizona children to Junior Achievement, a non-profit economic education program.
- Ronald McDonald House – For years, APS volunteers have cooked meals for the resident families at Ronald McDonald House. For families with children in the hospital, this is just one way APS Volunteers can make their lives a little less stressful. By providing dinner to the families three times a month, APS Volunteers are helping to feed over 3,000 families per year.
- The Salvation Army – volunteers provided donated items, supported holiday activities such as the Turkey Drive and Christmas Angel project and provided bell ringers. APS employees also serve on the board.
- Santa Letters – Close to 100 APS volunteers, also known as Santa’s elves, answered nearly 800 letters over the holiday season from boys and girls of all ages.
- Special Olympics – In 2007, about 50 APS Volunteers helped to coordinate the Special Olympics Indoor Athletics for over 75 special athletes. APS volunteers have participated in this event for more than 20 years, and employees serve on the board.
- St. Joseph the Worker – During the hot Arizona summer, APS Volunteers hosted a bottled water drive to collect funds and water to assist the homeless survive the summer heat. Monies raised and water donated went to St. Joseph the Worker, a nonprofit organization that assists homeless, low-income and other disadvantaged individuals in their efforts to become self-sufficient through permanent, full-time employment. The generous employees of APS collected nearly enough to provide three full weeks of water, hydrating approximately 300 people per day.
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