Pennsylvania

Celebrating Corporate Volunteers at Devereux
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
By: Devereux Pennsylvania

Devereux Pennsylvania

Devereux has been very fortunate to host a number of wonderful, hardworking corporate volunteer groups including Vanguard, Univest and Nave Newell, as well as high schools students from Villa Maria.

The 2012 Martin Luther King Day of Service was a great day of teamwork, partnering, and giving back at Devereux. Vanguard is an investment management company headquartered in Malvern which has been sending volunteers to Devereux for the past four years for this special day of service. This year three teams, consisting of over 60 employees, volunteered their time at three Devereux programs. Univest, a financial services corporation headquartered in Souderton, and Villa Maria, a Catholic college preparatory school in Malvern, also contributed over 30 volunteers to the Devereux CIDDS program in West Chester.

The Shops at Devereux were fortunate to have 22 energetic Vanguard volunteers to assist them with completing their on-going indoor painting project. A grateful Dorothy Carter, Program Administrator, says, "Thanks to the help of the Vanguard volunteers, our Maintenance Department, Shops Staff, and Family Members, we were able to complete some much needed interior painting of designated program areas and hallways throughout the building.  Our individuals and staff were thrilled and overjoyed to see the results and to have the opportunity to work side-by-side with the Vanguard Volunteers.  What a difference a fresh coat of paint can make to brighten and refresh, and the warm color tones create a soothing and inviting work environment! It was a win-win for all!"

At the Devereux CIDDS program, the three groups of volunteers helped with cleaning the school and organizing a Winter Carnival.  Melanie Beidler, CIDDS Executive Director expressed her gratitude, "The group from Univest did an incredible job with cleaning the schools and helping with the moving project at Main House. We truly appreciate all their hard work. The Vanguard and Villa Marie volunteers were AWESOME! We could not have had the Winter Carnival without them....we truly appreciate all their help with running the games and activities."

At Devereux CARES, a special education school for children with autism, the Vanguard volunteers spent the day painting the common areas and some of the classrooms. David Schultheis, Executive Director of Devereux Pennsylvania Community Services, remarked, “I was very impressed with the enthusiasm and interest in our programs this group from Vanguard brought.  It clearly was not just a day out of the office for them.  They took a keen interest in what Devereux does and the people we serve.  They were a delight to work with.”

On a cold, sunny mid-February weekend, employees from Nave Newell joined forces with staff from  Devereux Pennsylvania Community Services’ Phoenixville office to paint and brighten up the their waiting room. Nave Newell, Inc., located in King of Prussia, is a multi-disciplinary consulting firm that specializes in land development throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. During a visit to the office last fall by Greg Newell, President of Nave Newell and Devereux Pennsylvania Advisory Board member, he decided that the waiting room could use a facelift and offered to provide the area with a fresh coat of paint. Greg noted, "We consider volunteering to be a core part of our culture and we couldn’t think of a better organization to share our time with.” The Devereux staff and families are absolutely thrilled that the room now looks so warm and welcoming.

Devereux extends our sincere appreciation to all of these wonderful corporate volunteers who gave of their time and talent in our 100^th Anniversary year to enable Devereux to continue to provide the best for the individuals we serve. Devereux thanks all of the volunteers for their hard work and initiative and we will hope to have the opportunity to host them again in the future.