DS&D has a proud and established tradition of giving back to our communities through frequent volunteering and fundraising efforts. Together with the help of our employees we've created a corporate culture which continues to support the pursuit of doing good.
Our employees recently began "Jeans for Charity", a fundraiser which allows participants to dress-down on Fridays and raises money for an employee chosen charity every quarter. DS&D gladly matches 100% of contributions made by employees for this fundraiser.
DS&D and our employees support the following organizations and foundations. We proudly contribute to their efforts to make our community a better place to work and live.
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100 Year Association |
Make a Wish Foundation Monmouth Health Care Foundation Muscular Dystrophy Association NAACP Norwescap Family Success Center of Phillipsburg Pancreatic Cancer Network Rett Syndrome Research Foundation Somerset Medical Center Foundation Sparkle of Hope St. Judes Childrens Hospital St. Huberts of North Branch Animal Shelter Somerset Regional Animal Shelter of Bridgewater Special Olympics Tourette Syndrome Association of New Jersey United Way of Somerset County Visiting Nurse Association of New Jersey The Willow School |
June 24, 2011
Bridgewater, NJ - DS&D participated in the Samaritan Homeless Interim Program, (S.H.I.P.) to help feed the nearby community and aid those in need. SHIP began operations on March 5, 1984 in response to the unheeded cry of the many women, children and men who are in desperate need of emergency housing and associated services. SHIP is a faith based, interfaith and community funded, assisted and supported, grassroots organization. Their clients are the homeless, near-homeless, working poor families, and individuals in Somerset County Regions who are not able to obtain assistance from government or other private agencies.
Over a dozen DS&D employees participated in the outreach program during the 24th in Somerville, NJ. During the event many photos were taken and can be seen on our Facebook page. DS&D encourages all their employees to participate in the community and we thank our dedicated volunteers in making this event a success.
October 10, 2010
Verona, NJ - DS&D participated in the Miracle Walk to benefit St. Barnabas Medical Center and their Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in our 3rd annual Walk-A-Thon community initiative. The day's event went on to raise over $400,000 for the Intensive Care Unit at St. Barnabas and was received as a huge success. The NICU is a 56-bed component of the Regional Perinatal Center, which offers the most advanced intensive care for premature and ill newborns. The NICU was selected as a model by The Vermont Oxford Network, a non-profit collaboration of health care professionals dedicated to improving the quality of medical care for newborns.
Over a dozen DS&D employees and their families participated in the Miracle Walk on the cool autumn Sunday in Verona, NJ. During the event many photos were taken and are displayed below. DS&D encourages all their employees to participate in the community and we thank our dedicated volunteers in making the Miracle Walk to benefit the St. Barnabas Medical Center a success.
July 23, 2010
Bridgewater, NJ - DS&D lent a hand to Habitat for Humanity’s Raritan Valley Chapter as they were in the thick of building a nine home community in Bridgewater, NJ. This community will consist of four standard ranches, two extended ranches and three two- story homes at the time of completion. A group of thirty DS&D employees arrived around 8 am and worked tirelessly on multiple homes and a shed in ninety degree heat through the afternoon.
“I feel it's wonderful when you have the opportunity to give back to others as well as your community. It makes you stop and realize how fortunate you are that you are in the position to lend a hand. Even though it was a very humid, hot 90+ degree day we rallied together to work on multiple homes and a shed. It was amazing how much we actually accomplished. I was very proud of everyone”, commented Janet DeNise, Assistant Controller. Habitat for Humanity is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry that seeks to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world and make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. This organization invited people of all backgrounds, races and religions to build houses together in partnership with families in need. To date, Habitat for Humanity had built over 350,000 houses around the world, providing more than 1.75 million people in 3,000 communities with safe, decent, affordable shelter.
June 11, 2010
Ewing, NJ – DS&D was a proud participant in this year's Special Olympics New Jersey, on the campus of The College of New Jersey on June 11, 2010. DS&D united with volunteers from across the state to give back to their community.
Special Olympics New Jersey is a not-for-profit organization that provides sports training and athletic competition to children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Their philosophy is founded on the belief that people with intellectual disabilities can, with proper instruction and encouragement, learn, enjoy and benefit from participation in individual and team sports, adapted as necessary to meet the needs of those with special mental and physical limitations. Special Olympics believes that through sports training and competition, people with intellectual disabilities are benefited physically, mentally, socially and spiritually; families are strengthened, and the community at large, both through participation and observation, is united in understanding with intellectual disabilities in an environment of equality, respect and acceptance.
DS&D employees from every department and level within in the organization, including President, Scott Douglas, were on-hand that afternoon to help facilitate the tennis matches through line judging, officiating and ball handling. They also spent much of their time cheering for and supporting the athletes.DS&D is pleased to offer their employees an avenue to volunteering through their Community Initiatives Program. Employees have the opportunity to participate in one or more community service events during the year through the company's sponsorship. The next Community Initiative will take place July 23, 2010, as DS&D's employees tackle Habitat for Humanity.
February 3, 2010
In response to the devastating earthquake catastrophe in Haiti, DS&D's employees began an emergency donation drive at our Somerville office to raise money for The American Red Cross International Relief Fund. In collaboration with the employee-sponsored Jeans for Charity program, our employees managed to raise an impressive $1,705!
DS&D elected to match the donations raised for a grand total of $3,410 donated. During this difficult time, as teams of Red Cross volunteers, staffers, and disaster management specialist are continuing to send massive shipments of food and supplies to Haiti, we hope that every contribution can help the people of Haiti begin the process of recovering from this devastating disaster.
Please help the relief efforts in Haiti by visiting the American Red Cross website at www.redcross.org.
January 20, 2010
The DS&D family of employees really know how to stick together to help one another during difficult times.
Last November, an employee's son and his fiancé were expecting the arrival of their first child, Zachary, but were later devastated to find out that the baby would be born with Hypo Plastic Left Heart Syndrome, a rare and potentially fatal genetic disorder which alters the growth of the heart's left ventricle. Within the first three years of his life, Zachary will require a minimum of three costly and dangerous heart surgeries known as the Norwood Procedure. Additionally, Zachary will remain under constant medical supervision in the hospital's pediatric intensive care unit for several weeks following his birth.
After hearing about the news, our employees unanimously decided that all quarterly donations from the employee-run Jean's for Charity program would be donated to help offset costs of temporary living arrangements and medications associated with Zachary's medical care. With the raised amount of $1,578 matched by the Company, some of the additional expenses have been able to be paid for thanks to the Jeans for Charity program and Baby Zachary now has the opportunity to recover quickly from the surgeries.
Baby Zachary Update - The first surgery was successfully completed immediately following Zachary's birth on 11/24/2009. The second surgery is scheduled for April 14th and we are happy to report that as of January 20th, baby Zachary is finally home and recovering well with his ecstatic parents.
December 14, 2009
DS&D employees spent the year's 4th quarter spreading holiday cheer as ambassadors of the United Way's Gifts of the Season program. Collecting gift donations in the lobby of our Somervilleoffice, DS&D was able to provide the Gifts of the Season program with hundreds of brand new toys and books.
For the entire duration of the program's final week of collections, countless DS&D employees teamed up to deliver, unload and arrange donations collected from other area businesses to the United Way's warehouse. For Gifts of the Season, the gift items not only brighten the holidays for many seniors, disabled adults and children, but enable struggling individuals and families to meet their basic needs without having to choose between gifts for their family and paying bills or purchasing food.
To join us in supporting the United Way, please visit http://www.scuw.org
Some photos courtesy of Ed Pagliarini/MyCentralJersey
We will be dedicating our 3rd quarter "Jeans for Charity" collection to support the Somerset Food Bank and SHIPS (website:www.ship908.com).
You can help, too! Donations are encouraged and can be provided online at SomersetFoodBank.org
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Last November, Scott Douglas, President and CEO of DS&D, once again returned to Africa to donate 300 pairs of shoes and computer equipment to the Bududa Vocational Institute in Uganda. Scott's photography club and community involvement are featured in this recently published news article.
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