Wilkes-Barre Elves at Work: Three Sponsorships, One Office
Sundance Vacations employees go above and beyond each holiday season to spread joy to those less fortunate.
This year, the “elves” at our corporate office in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, helped two very important charitable causes prepare for the upcoming winter and holiday seasons: the Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank and The Salvation Army of Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Wasting no time, the company began the first of these charitable endeavors at the tail end of September.
It wasn’t just coats we collected! Scarves, hats, gloves, sweaters, and more were gathered by employees to donate to The Salvation Army.
The Salvation Army clothing drive, which was organized by Sundance Vacations employees Vincella Ross and Melinda “Mindy” Gray, was a month-long effort to collect lightly used clothing for those in need during the harsh conditions of the winter season.
Sundance Vacations has been organizing this drive since 2012 and each year employees bring in more and more.
This year’s drive totaled $1,000 retail value of clothing, as tallied by The Salvation Army of Wilkes-Barre.
“Many people will be helped to stay warm on cold days,” Lieutenant Ted Tressler of The Salvation Army of Wilkes-Barre said. “They will be blessed by [Sundance Vacations’] love for others.”
For the full story on the clothing drive, read our article on the Sundance Vacations Charities website.
Shortly after the clothing drive, employees began collecting food items to donate to the Weinberg Northeast Regional Food Bank, a program of the Commission on Economic Opportunity (CEO) which solicits, stores and distributes food supplies to faith-based nonprofits.
Employees collected jars of peanut butter, boxes of pasta, cans of vegetables and other nonperishable food items to help improvised families receive the proper nutrition they need.
Weinberg Food Bank took dozens of boxes and bags of food to distribute to those in need in Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
This December, the Sundance Vacations corporate office donated 619 pounds of food to the CEO/Weinberg Food Bank to feed the hungry.
Officials at the food bank tell us that one in every seven people need help putting food on the table.
“If it wasn’t for partner support such as Sundance Vacations,” Amanda Brueckler, the food bank’s Food Sourcing and Marketing Director, said, “we wouldn’t be able to help those in need.”
To learn more about the company’s food drive, read the full story on Sundance Vacations Charities.
Sundance Vacations employees also helped to make children’s holiday wishes come true by gathering up gifts for Christmas Angels, a program operated by The Salvation Army of Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
Interested employees received an angel tag with a child’s Christmas wishes, including their name, gender, age, clothing sizes and desired toys.
Our elves dashed through Santa’s workshop to hand-pick presents for each child.
Employees collected hundreds of toys and new clothing and provided gifts for 50 children in need.
“We were shocked to see how many presents just one office collected,” Tressler said. “We’re overwhelmingly grateful for Sundance Vacations’ support.”
This cat toy will be the purrrrfect gift for one little girl! Other popular presents were Disney’s Frozen themed items and Lego sets as well as warm winter clothing.
Sundance Vacations Charity Coordinator, Kelly Valovich, began our angel program with The Salvation Army eight years ago and plans to continue the tradition for many years to come.
“Every child deserves to experience the magic of Christmas,” Valovich said.
Thanks to the generosity of Sundance Vacations’ employees, many children will experience that magic this year.
Check out the Sundance Vacations Charities website for the full story on how Sundance Vacations and The Salvation Army prepared for the 2015 Christmas season.
Sundance Vacations could not be more proud of our employees and their relentless drive to help others in the community.
We would like to thank all those who lent a hand to support the local Wilkes-Barre community this holiday season!
Sundance Vacations Charities is our company’s charitable arm which helps to support dozens of charities around Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Washington DC, and Illinois.
For more information on how Sundance Vacations could help a charity near you, reach out to us in the comments below or send us a message on our Contact Us page.
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Happy Holidays!
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