The day started out a little gray; an overcast sky, but a fairly warm day, greeted me as I drove to The Arc of Monroe location at which we would present our foundation grant award: $25,000 to help fund the renovation of one of their resident homes; the remodel of a bathroom to allow for accessibility for those with more limited mobility. But this gray start to the day was about to change.
As I entered the home, our hosts were the absolute epitome of graciousness and hospitality. But there was so much more than that waiting for me. Firstly, the brilliant smiles of the home’s assistants. Camisha and Katrice were assisting a resident in the car, after which they quickly returned inside to chat with Paul, a resident who greeted me with the enthusiasm and gentility of someone receiving royalty. Truly, he was electric, simply bubbly in sharing his plans to put on a one-man act of the Wizard of Oz.
The day no longer felt gray. Instead, it was now filled with a most beautiful and brilliant sunshine.
My colleague, Myles Meehan, and I were at The Arc residence to present this grant on behalf of the HomeServe Cares Foundation, HomeServe’s corporate social responsibility program. HomeServe has a long history of giving back to the community; since our founding we have been active in supporting initiatives in somewhat unique ways. For example, we launched the forerunner of our Foundation with the HomeServe Cares Program, providing pro-bono repairs to financially limited homeowners needing critical water or sewer line repairs. In addition to also supporting various Habitat for Humanity efforts, HomeServe sought to get our employees involved in our caring efforts. Providing eight hours of paid PTO to volunteer at an organization of the employee’s choice is another part of the plan.
But as HomeServe continues to grow, we recognize that our tremendous success is fully dependent on one thing – and that thing isn’t technology, or leadership, although we are fortunate in those realms to be in excellent standing. That one thing is people, that’s why people are at the heart of everything we do at HomeServe. From our employees to our contractor network to our customers, it’s about people, and not products, at HomeServe.
For that reason, we came together internally to figure out how to raise the bar on our community involvement. Thus, the HomeServe Cares Foundation was born, with the mission of spreading hope and supporting communities, one home at a time. From the outset, we were determined that these would not just be words written on a wall, but words we live by every day at HomeServe.
To expand our impact, we launched the Foundation supported by four pillars: Caring for Good, Caring for People, Caring for Vets and Caring for Community. As part of our Caring for Community pillar, the Foundation introduced a new grant program to support community projects designed to provide near term impact and engage the communities served.
So here we were at The Arc awarding our first grant.
The Arc of Monroe’s people are inspiring, their mission uplifting, their reach impressive. For more than 50 years, The Arc has been providing services designed to enrich the lives of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities; to create an inclusive society where each person they serve can reach their full potential as part of the community.
After presenting the award, we were honored to have The Arc’s Executive Director, Carol Anne DeMoulin, show us several other of The Arc’s facilities. Firstly, we toured The Arc’s Community Arts Connection (CAN) where I was immediately struck by artwork that well-articulated a fundamental approach to life:
The CAN provides “a diverse array of offerings in the arts that encourages creativity and self-expression.”
That description doesn’t do it justice.
Music and dance? You bet. Of every kind, including a choreography to serve deaf participants. A great band. Musical theater. Choir.
Visual arts? Of course. Quilting, painting, videography, graphic arts. Of every kind imaginable.
Over 50 classes available. And why so many? The CAN’s, and The Arc’s, mission is to help each individual reach their full potential, whatever that potential may be.
For Paul, his dream is to stage that one act Wizard of Oz production. When his family approached The Arc about using a conference room for his show, Carol replied, “We can do better than that. This is a dream of his. He needs a curtain.”
To learn more about The Arc, visit https://arcmonroe.org/
The NLC Service Line Warranty Program, by HomeServe, provides affordable service line repair plans in partnership with over 700 municipalities across the U.S. HomeServe has a long legacy of giving back to communities and helping homeowners in need. The HomeServe Cares Foundation’s mission of spreading hope and supporting communities, one home at a time is supported by four pillars; caring for People, Communities, Veterans and the Common Good, both locally and nationwide. For more information visit https://partnerships.homeserve.com/water-solutions/corporate-social-responsibility/
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