Building a Brighter Future

VIRA Insight’s Connecting with Care initiative is celebrating a milestone anniversary, its first year of engaging employees in meaningful and intentional acts of service. In this inaugural year, Connecting with Care (CwC) has thoughtfully developed a mission, chosen Genesis Women’s Shelter and Support as its partner of focus, and organized a series of successful events, all while gaining valuable insights.

The CwC committee and board are committed to creating opportunities for every VIRA employee to experience the rewarding sense of purpose, teamwork and personal growth that comes from CwC volunteering. As the initial board members complete their one year term and pass the torch to the next board, the committee is focused on building on the strong foundation established in year one.

Building on a Strong Foundation

CwC’s first year offered many lessons in organizing and executing events. CwC Vice President Daniel Gouveia noted, “We had to create a step-by-step process, with each step its own mini project, to ensure success.” The committee members learned from their hands-on experiences and used that knowledge to begin creating best practices. “I’m so grateful to everyone who helped CwC come together this year, and I’m really proud of the strong foundation the committee has built,” added Gouveia.

According to Gouveia, the “backpack kitting” event for Genesis was a turning point for CwC. After the committee worked tirelessly to secure school essentials, the team organized 60 VIRA volunteers – its largest group yet – to seamlessly assemble 100 backpacks for Genesis. Thanks to insights gained from earlier events, like the holiday toy drive, the backpack event went smoothly. The CwC team credits Genesis Director of Philanthropy Sam Daniels for fast-tracking their learning curve with his in-depth knowledge of event planning and volunteer coordination.

The committee’s goal is to grow employee participation. After each CwC event, positive word-of-mouth buzz has helped attract new participants. Formal communications to promote CwC will continue, like CwC President Makenna Shaw’s speech at the VIRA town hall. Year one volunteers can attest to the many rewards of participation: meeting new people, getting to know colleagues on a deeper level, learning skills to help Genesis and enjoying the experiences. From what volunteers say, a simple rallying call for CwC might be, “Have fun while doing good!”

Generating Buzz for Upcoming Events

The CwC committee is already planning exciting events for the future.

  • CwC is also increasing its involvement with the Genesis Thrift Store, with VIRA volunteers not only donating items but working in the store, allowing them to see their impact firsthand.
  • VIRA has sponsored Genesis Jamfest, a local concert fundraiser. The VIRA team will also attend the upcoming concert together, having fun and supporting the Genesis’ fundraising efforts.
  • This holiday season CwC will be “adopting” Genesis families to fulfill items from the wishlists of these mothers and children, helping to ensure that their holiday celebrations are brighter. The committee will use VIRA’s sponsorship funds to purchase these gifts. CwC will also be collecting gift wrap donations internally to send with the gifts.
  • Throughout the year, Genesis will continue to train VIRA employees on how to be “kitchen table ambassadors” educating friends and family about the myths of domestic violence and what Genesis’ services offers. By educating others, VIRA volunteers have the opportunity to change societal norms that support the perpetuation of abuse.

Igniting a Bright Future

As Connecting with Care enters its second year, the positive momentum has never been stronger. Armed with lessons from its first year, the committee is prepared to take on a more ambitious event schedule, as it continues its partnership with Genesis Women’s Shelter. The collaboration with Genesis has been formative for CwC, as Genesis modeled excellence in all things, including communications, problem resolution and event execution. Genesis’ openness to new ideas has inspired the committee to brainstorm creative events, while extending or deepening CwC involvement in ongoing Genesis initiatives like childcare, thrift store support, holiday drives and especially domestic violence education.

Looking ahead, CwC plans to grow its calendar with monthly events. While Genesis will remain the primary partner of CwC for the foreseeable future, CwC will again broaden its focus throughout the year to include events planned at other “pillar” causes important to VIRA employees. Whether it’s the environment, children’s welfare or food insecurity, CwC will find the best local ways for VIRA employees to contribute to the solution. As the CwC initiative grows, its future is undeniably bright with meaningful opportunities for VIRA employees to help, as they “have fun while doing good” in the community.