The
W.J. Denver Chapter, IBEW Local 2324 and Girl Scout
troop 20505 gathered on Sat., April 30, for Operation
Cookie Drop. More than 200 boxes of Girl Scout cookies,
Hug-a-bears, hard candies, gum and toiletries will be
sent to troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. IBEW Members
donated the Girl Scout cookies and toiletries to be
shipped to our soldiers. The Pioneers organized the
project, and one of their clubs donated the Hug-a-bears.
The Girl Scout troop spent the morning at the Union Hall
making thank you cards for the soldiers and packing the
cookies. This is the fourth year the Pioneers have
spearheaded Operation Cookie Drop. Last year, they sent
eight large cartons of items to soldiers in Kuwait and
Afghanistan.
Presidential Awards
The
Pioneer Association is now a certifying agency for the
Presidential Service Awards. Established in 2003, the
President's Council on Service and Civic Participation
recognizes the valuable contributions volunteers are making in
our communities. To date, the President's Council has partnered
with more than 80 leadership organizations and more than 28,000
certifying organizations to bestow more than 1.5 million awards
to the nation's deserving volunteers.
Last month for the first time, the Pioneers were honored for
their generous volunteer efforts. Each award winner received a
certificate signed by President Barack Obama and a pin. The
awards were based on 2010 volunteer hours. Congratulations to
the members from 32 clubs, 23 councils and 17 Verizon and
FairPoint chapters who received:
248 bronze awards (50-74 hours)
106 silver awards (75-99 hours)
77 gold awards (100 or more)
An EGG-stra Good Time
On Sat., April 23, the
Alexander Graham Bell Chapter and the
Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind (CLB), designed an
EGG-stra special Easter Egg Hunt for visually-impaired children
and their sighted siblings with beeping and chirping eggs. Nancy
Rebar, a longtime volunteer with the Pioneers, said, "This event
helps create a lasting memory for a child. Finding Easter eggs
is such a cherished tradition, but it's not something
visually-impaired children can do without special eggs, so this
is a great way for them to have the same holiday fun as other
children."
Jocelyn Hunter, communications director for the Columbia
Lighthouse, said the idea for beeping eggs was hatched about a
decade ago, and this year's event featured plenty of treats,
Easter baskets for the children and a tour of the firehouse. A
private non-profit, the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind
enables people of all ages to overcome the challenge of vision
loss and remain independent and active.
Life Member Spotlight
Our Life Member Spotlight is on... Arlene Heintzelman of
the
Kinnard Chapter. A Pioneer since 1978, Arlene is
always thinking. With her sparkling blue eyes and a smile, she
seems to be always at the ready with an answer, an idea to
uplift someone's spirit, or be available to help and support.
That get up and go spirit of liveliness and the attitude of
"anything is possible" is what ran the LH Kinnard Chapter office
for the past 6-½ years. You would probably recognize the voice
that answered the phone calls to your many questions, edited all
the news that's fit to print in the Kinnard Konnection
newsletter and recorded the news on the Pioneer Call-in Line. It
has kept her very busy, especially updating the 5000+ member
database.
She had also volunteered in the office for six years prior to
gaining the official title of Office Manager. Taking time for a
knee and two hip replacements, Arlene has officially retired
after 12-½ years of working in the office. Since the inception
of the Sports Jamboree at Fort Indiantown Gap in 1983, now in
its 29th season, Arlene has celebrated most of her June
birthdays helping there for the three-day weekend. Although her
work weeks had been filled with plenty to do, Arlene still finds
time to volunteer regularly at her church and the Mechanicsburg
Library. One of Arlene's monthly services includes Adult Day
Care Bingo.
She has served as Pioneer Council President, Club President,
Chapter President, Life Member Rep, Member-at-Large and on
numerous committees. Arlene's long career included retiring
after 31 years from Bell Atlantic's News Bureau.
Earth Day
It was a cloudy, but warm day when 11 members of the
Old Dominion - Peninsula Council gathered to participate in
the spring cleanup day on Sat., April 16. A team of four
military personnel also participated. They arrived at the
Coliseum Central Business Improvement District office at 8:15
a.m., signed in and received color coded maps of the cleanup
area and supplies. After light refreshments, the cleanup crew
headed out into the Coliseum Central area. They collected 17-1/2
bags of trash. The cleanup was sponsored by Coliseum Central
Business Improvement District, Hampton, VA. The supplies were
courtesy of the Hampton Clean City Commission.
Time-Honored Recipes
Be the first to own this once in a lifetime memento
commemorating the 100 Years of Pioneers volunteering in their
communities. Pioneers of the Verizon, Frontier and FairPoint
companies have graciously taken the time to document and share
their time-honored recipes, some of which have been handed down
from generation to generation. Help celebrate the Pioneer
Centennial Anniversary by purchasing this very special cookbook
and know that you are helping to keep Pioneering alive in our
communities through your purchase. Books may be purchased from
your local clubs and councils for $10 or through the
Verizon Pioneer Estore for $10, plus shipping and handling.
Be the first on your block to own this piece of history which
supports Pioneer Projects in your community. Makes a terrific
gift for friends and family too!
Silent Partners... the
Pioneers
Dear President Mr. Seidenberg:
It is my great pleasure to share with you the wonderful works of
generosity bestowed by the Nova 5 Chapter for the street
homeless. These special East Bronx volunteers certainly take to
heart the directive set by Verizon to "forge partnerships and to
focus on the social issues of safety and health..."
This was an incredible winter blanketed by snow and blistery
cold, and yet there was reason to celebrate. The Pioneers
favored our community with gifts of long johns, socks, hats,
gloves, scarves and personal items... Here are my silent
partners, the Pioneers. This is the partnership, focusing on the
safety of one in desperate need...
I want to extend my gratefulness to you, Mr. Seidenberg, being
at the helm and continuing to invest fully in the mission of
Verizon. I remain indebted to the Pioneers.
The Verizon Pioneers are pleased to announce a new member
benefit in partnership with the Pioneers Association, the
Pioneers Online Mall. This program is so full of benefits that
it is truly win-win, for the member and the organization.
Shopping has never been easier or more secure with more than 500
best-in-class retailers in over 20 categories, such as Sears,
Macy's, Target, Circuit City, Barnes & Noble, Teleflora,
Expedia, eBay and many more.
You'll find all of your favorite merchants in one place and
you'll be able to take advantage of exclusive offers and rebates
not available in stores. Plus, you'll earn rebate points on
every purchase you make that convert to cash back to you paid
automatically each quarter (once member reaches the $10
threshold of 1,000 points). So the more you shop, the more
you'll save. You'll be supporting the Verizon Pioneers while you
shop and save because a portion of every purchase will be paid
back to the organization.
So click
here to visit the Pioneers Online Mall and start shopping
and saving today!
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