Last night, I went to a reception for the new President of The Hunger Project, a nonprofit organization that was a participant in Sun's Global Giving Drive. At the end of last year, Sun employees helped to support this important cause. No words can express the scope and depth of their work but the video may give you an idea.
The Sun-Women Boston employee
network concluded it's 2007 Holiday Gift Drives in Burlington and
Nashua.
The enthusiasm and support of the entire local Sun community provided
gifts valued ~$10,000 across the region!
Burlington Results - This was Sun's first drive for the Lowell Wish Project and
was successfully managed by Michele Walker and Tricia Teixeira.
Sun employees shopped for and donated over 100 gifts for 30 families
across the Merrimack Valley. Thanks to everyone
who helped out with the sorting and packing so that the delivery could
take place before the big snowstorm last Thursday!
Special thanks to Brenda Wells & Amanda
Young
& the LABBS students for helping to pack up & store the gifts
on a daily basis. We are estimating that the value of the gifts donated
to be ~$5000!
Nashua Results - This was Sun's 7th consecutive year of
providing gifts for all of the residents of Nashua's Children's Home
and was successfully managed by Sandy Belknap and Terri McClellan.
Gift bags with clothes, shoes and presents were provided to every one
of the 44 residents of the NCH. We also delivered bags filled with
great games, videos, etc. for all of the kids to share! Thanks to
everyone who pitched in to pack, sort, deliver and make sure that gifts
from BUR found their way to NH last week. Special thanks to Cindy
Tello for her tireless efforts to help distribute tags and to store
gifts throughout the drive. We are estimating the value of the gifts
donated to be over $5000!
VOLUNTEERS: Please Log
your hours in the new Sun Volunteer tool. You can log in the
time you took to shop for your gifts, as well as the time you donated
to help sort, pack and deliver. Both drives are registered in the
online tool. Your volunteer hours are tracked for Sun's
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report.
Both drives are still accepting monetary
donations and qualify for Sun
Gift Match Funds.
Donate
to the Lowell Wish Project.(Paypal)
Donate
to Nashua's
Children's Home. (select 'Donate Now' from the left Navbar)
Submit
an Gift Match from the the Sun Foundation. (Link Goes Directly to
Online Form)
Reminder: Sun Microsystems
Global Giving Drive is open thru the end of the month.
Thanks for your support and generosity & Happy Holidays!
-The Women@Sun-Boston Network
Pictures from Delivery Days Last Week:
Michele Walker and Queida Davis in Burlington
Santa Larry Grant, Terri McClellan
& Cindy Tello in Nashua
Do you know how much Sun employees donated in the 2006 Annual Global Giving drive?
Take the quiz and make your guess on SunWeb. Once you're shocked by the answer - go to Global
Giving Drive and make your donation today...it's not too late!
Ten worthy organizations were chosen as beneficiaries of the Drive with
the help of Sun volunteers and members of the Friends of the Sun
Foundation community in Facebook, which we welcome you to join.
The beneficiary
organizations fill a specific need in the community, on a large scale.
Here are examples of some of the work these organizations are doing:
The call for nominations for non profits to be considered as beneficiaries for our Global Giving Drive has closed.
The infrastructure we used for accepting nominations was via the Friends of the Sun Microsystems Group in Facebook -- a community that is open to the public. We welcome you to join it.
The Sun Foundation staff and the Sun Foundation Ambassadors now begin the work of selecting the 10 finalists that will be designated as beneficiaries.
We will announce the names of those charities on November 20.
Below is the text of the nominations that were submitted. We thank all of those who partcipated.
Mission: Global Giving Drive Nominations
Here is your chance to make a real difference at Sun! As in past years, Sun will offer a Global Giving Drive to be launchined November and run through the end of the year. We are inviting the entire community to nominate their favorite charities to be one of the beneficiaries of Sun's Global Giving Drive. Ten nonprofit organizations from around the world will benefit from the online drive that last year raised over US$70,000 (not including the Sun match!)
Task: To nominate a Charity, please post the organization's name as well as up to a 200 word description of it on the Friends of the Foundation community on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=5154086445&topic=3397. You may consider including the Organization's website, its mission, its client base, etc.
Deadline: Nominations will be accepted until October 24, then Sun Foundation Ambassadors will choose the final 10 organizations, with at least 4 organizations to have an international reach.
We make a living by what we do, but we make a life by what we GIVE ~Winston Churchill
Mission Accomplished!
Thanks to the efforts of Sun Atlanta
Woman's Group, Sun joined forces for the 3rd consecutive year
with the Children's Restoration Network “Back 2 School Campaign”.
Sun employees volunteered their time and donated hundreds of dollars in back packs
and school supplies, including 3,000 back packs to children in need!
From July 13th-August 4th, Sun volunteers made donations of back packs and school supplies. For the past 13 years, the Children's Restoration Network has distributed supplies collected through the Back 2 School campaign to shelters and group homes in Atlanta, but the giving does not stop there! Sun Volunteers sorted/packed bookbags and school supplies, and then volunteered their time at a hugely successful Back to School Readiness Day (in 100 degree weather!).
-Back Pack Distribution
-DJ/Cotton candy/Snow
cones
-Bead Necklace Making
-Face Painting
-Medical/Dental
Screenings
-Hair Cuts
The volunteers stellar contributions
did not go unnoticed by the community, as there were 3 TV news
stations to capture the day's events. At the end of the day,
this is another example of how thousands of children benefit from Sun
volunteers, but this is a prime representation of how Sun's employees
accomplish great tasks when they work together as a team.
The West Dallas Community Centers serve some of the poorest neighborhoods in the US.
Five years ago they received a technology grant from the Sun Foundation. They have had a sustained presence of Sun employee volunteers ever since.
This past April, during Worldwide Volunteer Week, Sun employee volunteers upgraded the Centers to Solaris 10 and StarOffice 8.
In doing so, they uncovered a need for more equipment.
I got the request from Sun employee and volunteer leader Lisa Danzer.
It came in the day before my next scheduled Board meeting. (perfect timing!)
The request sailed through.
And just days ago the equipment arrived at the West Dallas Community Centers.
It will be installed later this month by a group of Systems Engineers as part of a volunteer team building activity.
We'll definately keep you updated on developments in this space, but meanwhile I wanted to take a moment to thank the Sun employee volunteers who have been principals in this work.
Lisa Danzer
Roger Lippert
Wences Michel
Rob Morgan
Kathy Osgood
Don Pearce
Eric Truax
I'll keep you posted on developments.
Mary
p.s. Funding from a Volunteer Week raffle (Thank you Dallas Sun employees!) was used to buy tickets for West Dallas Community Center kids to the Dallas Metroplex Technology Business Council luncheon.
They attended the luncheon and heard David Hanson discuss
creating/starting a company
that works with Robotics. It was a great opportunity for the kids to
get exposed to cutting-edge technology and hear how David has been able
to merge both his Fine Arts Degree and his Computer
Science Degree. It showed them that they could find work that is not
only rewarding but also a lot of fun.
I just found out about a really neat project that maps directly to our Open Doors initiative. I read about it on the blog of summer intern Mike Coe.
Last month, in Colorado, a group of high school kids came in to spend the day with us.
They are in a program run by the Colorado School of Mines for students who might not necessarily be on a track to going to university. The program aims to get them on those rails and expose them to engineering.
About 35 kids came in and spent some time with us last week to do just that.
There are more details about what they did on Mike's blog.
We're developing a template around this kind of engagement, to make it easy for Sun employees to host these kinds of events.
The objective is to extend a hand of partnership -- across sectors, across generations -- to expose young people to who we are, what we do, and the causes we believe in.
I think it's a great program. Initial feedback has been very positive. We're all really excited about what's ahead.
MaryAs the executive director of the Sun Foundation, I get to work with a Board of Directors.
We are so lucky to have just an incredible Board that actively invests in the work that we do.
I recently had an impromptu 1:1 with one such Board member -- Hal Stern.
He was in my geography hosting a mini-town hall/lunch for his larger organization.
Afterwards, I grabbed him for 1:1. We talked about a next-generation project in the works, the details of which are still top secret. But I will share this with you:
... the notes I took back to my office from the meeting.
:-)
Mary
I just got off the phone with the Volunteer Director at RSVP Boulder, a non-profit organization that provides safety-net services to elderly people in need.
She called me to discuss involving people RSVP Boulder serves into our Open Doors program. I think prospects are reasonably good and we're going to continue working that to see if there's a fit.
Just as we were concluding the conversation, she shared a story with me.
And I want to share it with you.
For years, Sun employee Pam Morgan ....
... has set up a giving tree at the holidays. Employees in the office have donated gifts to be given to people in need -- including the elderly served by RSVP Boulder.
The non-profit director told me that in many cases the need is dire. "For some of them, the only social interaction they have is with their doctor. Many of these people are completely alone"
When the gifts that the Sun employees -- organized by Pam -- arrived they were greeted with much joy and gratitude.
"One elderly lady was literally jumping up and down. She said: 'I feel like I've just won in BINGO. No one has given me a gift in years.' "
I am proud to call Pam Morgan -- and the dozens of Sun employees who have given so generously over the years as part of this program -- my colleagues.
This story is the first Christmas gift I've ever received in July.
I treasure it.
Mary
We've got a new boss starting on Monday.
Director of Global Citizenship.
The Foundation (as well as other functions) will roll up into him.
We countinue to report into the same larger organization. No changes there.
More to come on this front as word becomes "official."
The take overall: it's all good. very excited. looking forward to what's ahead!
:-)
Mary
Over the course of the past four years, Sun employee volunteers in Sao Palo, Brazil have been opeining up our facilities on evenings and weekends. They've been bringing in young people from impoverished communities and training them on basic IT principals, Java 101, office skills. They've touched the lives of 220 young people -- and changed the trajectories of some.
There is an effort that our group is leading to learn from, and replicate, the programs that our Brazillian colleagues have driven. It's called Project Open Doors.
This week we were very pleased to host a group of young people in our Menlo Park, CA headquarters.
The high school-aged students are part of the Coro Exploring Leadership Program. They are investing in expanding their leadership skills with an eye
towards making an impact on issues important in the communities where they live. The program is about
fostering confidence and courage to put their ideas into action and
positively impact their high school and neighborhood communities while
changing society's assumptions of youth.
Sun VP Joe Hartly is a graduate of the CORO program.
We were pleased to have these young people with us today. The interaction is part of our Project Open Doors.
With Open Doors, we extend the hand of partnership to young people in the communities where we operate. Today we hosted a one-day event. But there are also ongoing, sustained engagements under Project Open Doors umbrella (first US ongoing program to roll out in the fall).
The interaction is all about exposing young people to who we are and what we care about. And challenging their thinking in the ways in which the network can be used to drive positive change in their lives.
Today, the young people interacted with Sun executives including...
... Ingrid Van Den Hoogen, SVP of Brand, Global Communications and Integrated Marketing.
They interacted with technology, were exposed to some new initatives we're driving and met with a wide range of professionals including:
Stacey Beck - Engineering program manager for new product introduction
Victor Cousins - A day in the life of an HR Business Partner"
Fiona Gallagher - Senior Brand Manager and steward of Sun's Second Life presence
Orlena.Fong - A day in the life of a Sun attorney
Ingrid Mayer - A Day in the Life of a Marketing Team
Scott Meeth - Verifying processor designs, before they become processors.
Margaret.Nguyen - From Advertising Intern to Employee - Make it Happen!
Shari Slate - Director of Global Diversity
Susan Space, Director of Brand and Advertising
Chris Tsilipounidakis - Intern turned employee
These colleagues and so many others... sharing the opportunity.
:-)
Mary
We're working on a new and improved external web presence for the Sun Foundation and the larger Global Citizenship organization.
I just saw wireframes of the new site and did a preliminary walk through.
I'm very excited.
It will launch in the next few weeks.
I think it's going to be really great.
Mary
About 90 students from the NJ Governor's School of Engineering and Technology Program, came to Sun's Somerset, NJ office today.
The Governor's School is a summer enrichment program that nurtures the talents of New Jersey's top students who are entering their senior year in high school. The students are generally in the top 2% of their high school classes.
The program is focused on the fields of engineering, information technology and technology.
Through courses, projects, labs, trips and other activities, students achieve a higher level of understanding of the engineering process.
The students came to Sun for a full day of lectures and demonstrations on topics such as A Day in the Life of a Field Service Engineer, Eco-Responsibility - What it means at SUN, and You & the Participation Age.
They were hosted by a team of awesome Sun volunteers...
... including Hal Stern, a Sun Foundation Board Director and the guy serving up the pizza at lunch. :-)
On May 4, 2007, a devastating tornado struck Greensburg, Kansas.
The disaster gripped people worldwide.
A group of Sun employees who live in the region mobilized.
As a volunteer effort, the group led by Dorothy Chikly reached out to see what could be done to help. An overview of what they did just ran in the Hays Daily News. Details below.
The employees involved make me proud to work here.
Their names:
Joe
Barkoviak, Client Delivery Executive
Charles Blackburn, Regional Services Manager
Don
Chatfield, Deliver Services
Dave, Sun Fed SE
Dorthy Chikly, Customer Advocate Sun Learning Services
Tyler Evans, System Support Engineer
Richard Gilmore, Preemptive
Service Engineer
Liz Griswold, Marketing Branding Manager
Paul Guis, IT Equipment Recovery
Specialist for Sun
Jim
Holzier, RE Manager for Kansas
Carla
Morales-Bastian , Regulatory Engineer in Product Safety Engineering
Joyce Murata, Program Manager, Global Citizenship
Dale Roush, Sun SAR dept. (Asset Management
Policy Group)
Jim Stewart, Kansas ISO account
manager
Angela Wieskamp, System Support Engineer
The story...
Company
helps with
Hays Daily News
By Mike Hammett
July 17, 2007
This blog copyright 2009 by mary
