“‘Developing Workers. Strengthening Communities.’ is so much more than a corporate ‘tagline’ reports Tiffany Haynes, Lead Instructor, KRA/VIEW (Virginia Initiative for Employment not Welfare) Program. It is the very heart of KRA’s mission, and our annual Community Care Day Campaign reflects the true essence of KRA…a belief that ‘strengthening communities’ goes far beyond ‘developing workers’. We help to make our communities stronger in many other ways, in that local KRA sites support their communities all year long…raising awareness and/or money for many non-profit causes and organizations. However, once a year, we coalesce our energy and support as one company focused on one cause…and that is the objective of Community Care Day!”
Haynes continued, “Each year, the local projects’ Campaigns reflect the caring, concern, and strength within our communities. The focus of the 2012 initiative, for which I served as the national Coordinator, was “Support Our Troops”, and achieved a level of success that exceeded all my hopes and aspirations. Not only did each project meet their goals and objectives, they surpassed them with flying colors! Each site decided to support our military, both active and retired, in unique ways, a few of which are highlighted below.”
- KRA/DC staff partnered with the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and donated coats for their January Coat Drive. Also, they connected with Andrews Air Force Base staff, and sent them personal-care and grooming items…of which there is always a critical shortage…to be distributed to active-duty Air Force personnel.
- Staff from KRA/CTWorks visited two residential facilities for homeless Veterans, distributed gift-baskets filled with personal-care items, and treated them to a home-cooked meal.
- KRA/Camden staff collaborated with their Community Work Experience Program partners to demonstrate appreciation and support for local troops stationed at Fort Dix, New Jersey. By the end of their campaign, more than $500 and 300 individual gift items…snack-packs, toiletries, toys, etc….were collected and delivered to the soldiers and their families.
- Staff from KRA/Lower Savannah worked with the SCWorks’ Local Veteran Employment Representatives group and the Disabled Veterans Outreach Program, to volunteer at the Annual Appreciation Day event and the Spring 2013 Tri-County Veteran Stand Down, and to collect and donate personal-care items for members of local Army Guard and Reserve Units that deploy on a frequent basis.
- KRA/Norfolk staff volunteered with the local USO for their annual December Holiday Party for military families, by assisting with concession-stand operations, including assembly and disassembly of the stands themselves. Also, they supported the USO’s Adopt-a-Family Christmas celebration, collecting gifts and toys and delivering five jumbo-size Christmas bags to an ‘adopted’ family of five. In response, the USO sent a thank-you letter acknowledging the numerous contributions KRA has made to the success of their annual efforts.
Haynes concluded, “I’d like to thank everyone, especially the project-site Coordinators, who worked so diligently to make ‘Support Our Troops’ 2012 so very successful! Also, I’d like to announce that planning has already begun for the 2013 Community Care Day Campaign, the focus of which is ‘Volunteer With a Local Hospital’. I am confident that our projects will take this fifth annual initiative to heart, and with creativity and resourcefulness make it every bit as successful as all the others.”
