Holsum Wins Volunteer Award
Governor announces winner of June Volunteer Award
June 2003
PHOENIX - Governor Janet Napolitano and the Governor's Commission on Service and Volunteerism announced that Holsum Bakery is the June 2003 winner of the Governor's Volunteer Service Award in the Large Business category.
Holsum Bakery, Arizona's oldest family owned business, has taken an active role in their community by supporting education and their surrounding neighborhood. A driving factor in this involvement has been Holsum's innovative approach to encourage their employees to volunteer by giving them a specified amount of time off that they can use to volunteer.
Holsum Bakery and its employees have taken an active role in organizing and providing after school activities for students at nearby Alfred E. Garcia Elementary School. Their employees adopted the sixth grade at the school and sponsor various events for the students, including a field trip to the Holsum Bakery plant, educating the students about future job opportunities, and taking them up Piestewa Peak for a picnic. In addition, Holsum employees established a student-run mini-store at the school, which is stocked with donated goods that the students can earn by completing their homework, showing good behavior and doing volunteer work.
Holsum employees have also dedicated time and effort to improve their community by donating land to Safe Haven, a local non-profit, and by working with them to develop a neighborhood park. Since it opened in December 2000, Garcia Community Park has become the center of its community. Holsum employees also adopted a neighborhood close to their plant and work with the residents to clean up the neighborhood twice per year.
"I am impressed with the initiative that Holsum Bakery has taken to invest in youth and in their community. They have created a forward-thinking model of community involvement for other businesses in the state to follow," Governor Janet Napolitano said.
For more information contact Erin Hart at (602) 364-1347 or visit www.volunteerarizona.org.
LandAmerica Transnation, one of the nation's most respected title insurance and real estate transaction services companies, has been named as the Presenting Sponsor of the Governor's Volunteer Service Awards for the second year in a row. Also sponsoring the awards are Allstate Insurance Company, the Arizona Association of Volunteer Centers, One By One Consulting and the Volunteer Center of Tucson.
The Governor's Commission on Service and Volunteerism (GCOSV) is the Governor's policy making body for community service and volunteer related issues. The Commission funds and oversees the administration of the Arizona AmeriCorps and service-learning programs. The GCOSV also supports volunteer program development, community service initiatives, and policy issues affecting volunteers.
The GCOSV is a function of the Governor's Office for Children, Youth and Families - Division for Community and Youth Development. The Governor's Office for Children, Youth and Families serves the mission of the Governor by assisting Arizona families in attaining effective and enduring solutions to their problems, and works with communities and other governmental entities to secure resources for those who need them in ways that positively impact their lives. # # #
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