December was a busy month for Building Impact. On December 16th, we rented ZipCars to collect toys and gift cards from over 35 buildings across Greater Boston. By mid-day one car was so overflowing with gifts that we had to add a stop at East End House in Cambridge to unload all the gifts. East End House strives to meet community needs by offering support to diverse families and individuals via a wide array of services including the food pantry, community workshops, and after school programs. Once off-loaded, the gift collections continued and we were able to drop off 3 full SUV loads of toys and gifts to Project Just Because in Hopkinton. The mission of Project Just Because is to help individuals and families having financial difficulties by providing them with the supplies they need including clothing, school supplies, toiletries and household items. Overall the in-building donation drives went great! Companies helped donate over 720 toys worth over $12,000 to the two nonprofits, who were both greatly appreciative of everyone’s efforts in collecting so many fantastic donations! A hearty thank you to all participants!
In addition to the building-wide donation drives, several companies ran internal donation drives. Fresensius Medical Center held a holiday party to help collect over $2,240 worth of toys for the Waltham Boys & Girls Club, while National Development, McNamara/Salvia and Sonos adopted Pine Street Inn clients to fill holiday shopping wish lists for the individuals and families. Other companies fulfilled wish lists from nonprofit partners including Room to Grow and the YWCA. All the amazing donations made the holiday season much brighter for thousands of individuals in the Boston area. Here’s wishing you all a happy 2012! Hope to see you out volunteering with us!
