Sep 18 2010
At MEDRAD, Inc., community outreach is a celebrated corporate tradition. This year marks MEDRAD's 11th annual Day of Caring, a company-sponsored event where employees will have the opportunity to spend a workday volunteering in their communities.
Over 1000 MEDRAD employees will participate in the event this year, devoting more than 5000 man hours collectively to community organizations. This volunteer effort will assist more than 50 community groups in the Pittsburgh region, including Easter Seals, Westmoreland ARC and Volunteers of America, and Opportunity Partners and Pack It Up Foodshelf Network in Minneapolis, Minn.
Employees will tackle projects ranging from landscaping, remodeling and painting community facilities, to hosting parties and running carnival games for the disabled and elderly. For organizations that have benefitted over the years from MEDRAD volunteers, the outpouring of service is a welcome tradition.
"MEDRAD's Day of Caring is a critical part of our year," says Mike Daniher, camp ranger at Camp Guyasuta, a Greater Pittsburgh Council Boy Scouts of America facility. "It allows us to complete projects in one day that would otherwise take us a whole year to complete. Without the volunteers from MEDRAD, we would not be able to accomplish all of the projects and improvements that enhance our camp."
While the Day of Caring is a celebrated tradition for many long-term MEDRAD employees, it is a new custom for Sam Liang, MEDRAD's newly-appointed President and CEO.
"It's clear that MEDRAD employees are devoted to improving the regions in which we operate," says Liang. "They share a sincere desire to give back to the community, and I'm excited to work alongside them on the Day of Caring."
MEDRAD's Day of Caring celebration began in Pittsburgh in 1999, and expanded globally several years later when employees in the company's international offices began volunteering in their respective locations. Last year, the outreach grew to include the Minneapolis region, where 200 plus employees from the company's interventional business participated in the event.