Throughout the holiday season, most of us have at least once walked past Santa waving his bell in front of the grocery store as he collected donations for the holidays or seen toy drive bins lining the walls of many major retailers such as Target and Walmart. What many do not realize is that behind those toy bins are hundreds of individuals who volunteer as little as a few hours once a year to help decorate locations across the country and sort these toys for families in need. Over a period of two weeks this month, volunteers from the DeWinter Group and Maris Consulting Group's teams traveled to Salvation Army locations around the Bay to lend support to the organization's annual Holiday Toy Drive. We decorated tables, sorted toys by children's ages, and helped display these toys to ensure that as families passed by, they could find the perfect gift to put under their tree.While working at the San Jose location, we learned from our partners at the Salvation Army that there was a shortage of toys and gifts for older children from ages 9 to 12. Naturally, this made us all feel a bit sad. But it also sparked an idea: let's do something about that! After a quick call to the DeWinter Group's CEO, Shane Oberg, it was decided on the spot that the DeWinter Group and Maris Consulting Group would further assist the Salvation Army with the last minute purchase of additional toys.
Volunteers Ale Moll and David Gleit were given the somewhat pleasurable task of buying scores of additional toys and gifts for the older kids. Two days later, after a few trips to major stores in the San Jose area, David and Ale delivered the goodies to the Salvation Army, just in time for their final day of toy donations!
How are you giving back throughout the holidays?
At the DeWinter Group and Maris Consulting Group, giving back to the community we serve is not an option, it is our duty. We are extremely fortunate and volunteering at the Salvation Army was needless to say a very emotional and humbling experience for every single one of the volunteers who made time to show up. There are so many in need and volunteering even as little as an hour can make the biggest different.
To learn more regarding how you and your company can give back throughout the year, visit the Salvation Army's Ways to Give page.
