At Wireless Zone®, giving back is what we do. Supported by the amazing efforts of our employees, we help our local communities year-round through group and individual volunteer events, company-wide give backs, and community grants. Check out some of our company’s highlights from April, May, and June:
June 2024
High Hopes Therapeutic Riding Volunteer Event
Store Support employees Joanne M., Nicholas C., Renée M., Vanessa B., Matt C., and Desiree C. volunteered setting up and cleaning up for the High Hopes Therapeutic Riding 50th Anniversary Gala. Desiree also presented the nonprofit with a $10,000 community grant that will provide critical aid, ensuring access to those in need of their equine-assisted services.
Best of the Lake Award
Congratulations to YJT Communications franchise group and the Okeechobee, FL, crew for being recognized by Lake Okeechobee News with the Best of the Lake 2024 award for best cell phone sales and service! This store always provides a great experience to their customers, treating them on a first name basis. It’s no surprise that this store is consistently at the top of the charts for performance.
The Sanctuary at Haafsville Volunteer Event
Kelsey B.’s district (PA/NJ D5) had a volunteer event with The Sanctuary at Haafsville, an animal rescue organization they have a longtime partnership with. Kelsey noticed she had a lot of staff availability for a certain day, so she reached out to the rescue with only a 2-week notice to see if they could get an event scheduled. They are booked with corporate volunteer events through November but were able to find time for this team because of their established relationship! The team walked dogs, cleaned kennels, organized, and gave their dogs on-site some extra love and attention.
On the day of their event, a tiny cavapoo was brought in from an Amish puppy mill. PA/NJ Sales Associate Scott B. ended up adopting her, and she is the same exact breed as his mom’s dog that he trained and watches all the time. She’s acclimating so well to her forever home and Scott couldn’t be happier! Scott started at TCC in 2020 and is lucky because it set him on a path to become financially independent. It has grown to be so much more now and is the reason that his actual family has grown as well!
Humane Society of Tacoma and Pierce County
District 6, 7, and 8 team members from the WA/ID region rolled up their sleeves and volunteered at the Humane Society of Tacoma and Pierce County. The team was tasked to be on bath brigade and spent the day cleaning, sanitizing, and reorganizing the animal intake area where baths, cuts, and washes happen. It’s an area that needed a lot of love and the team was happy to provide it while sharing a lot of laughs and fun!
Humane Society of Scott County Volunteer Event
The East IN region volunteered at the Humane Society of Scott County for the second year in a row painting their back yard fence. They painted the outside of the fence last year and finished up the inside this year. The Humane Society is already making their to do list for the TCC team next year!
SAGE Evening of Pride
The SAGE (Sexuality and Gender Equality) employee resource group hosted their third annual Evening of Pride, benefiting Muncie OUTreach. They raised over $17,000, which will fund their entire after school program for the rest of the year!
Trinity Haven Volunteer Event
The SAGE employee resource group spent some time volunteering with Trinity Haven, a nonprofit that provides safe, welcoming, and affirming housing for LGBTQ+ young adults experiencing housing instability. They transformed their outdoor area so the residents can start a whole new garden.
DREAM Alive Job Shadowing Event
The E IN leadership team and some Store Support employees put on a job shadowing event for DREAM Alive students so they can learn more about different aspects of our business and potential future career paths.
Juneteenth Event
Our employee resource group, The BARR (Black Alliance at Round Room), held their inaugural Juneteenth Celebration on June 19th. Juneteenth, officially Juneteenth National Independence Day is also known as Jubilee Day, Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, and Black Independence Day. It has been celebrated annually on June 19th in various parts of the United States since 1865. The holiday is considered the “longest-running African American holiday” and has also been called “America’s second Independence Day”.
To celebrate, we held in-person and virtual events honoring the culture and freedom associated with Juneteenth, supporting black owned businesses, food trucks, and other vendors, in addition to sharing educational information pertaining to the holiday.
May 2024
CASA Volunteer Event
Jessica A. worked with CASA of Jefferson County, planning their annual charity auction: “When Your Heart is Broken, Make Art with the Pieces” in Madison, IN, and some of the EIN team volunteered at the actual event. It was a great night, and they were honored to support CASA’s mission promoting court-appointed volunteer advocacy so children who have experienced abuse or neglect can have a safe, permanent home.
Gleaners Volunteer Event
We have an ongoing partnership with Gleaners and send groups to volunteer there throughout the year. At our May event, a group of employees from Store Support volunteered at Gleaners Food Bank to help sort food for their pantry. They helped to sort 4,400 pounds of food, which will provide 3,673 meals to Central Indiana families in need!
91 Place Blue Jeans and Blingo
Store Support employees attended the second annual Blue Jeans and Blingo fundraiser for 91 Place, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit that helps unhoused youth grow, transform, and rebuild their lives. They raised an astounding $150,000!
Get10Give10 Winner
Peyton Curry from the Wireless Zone® Temple Terrace, FL, store is our most recent Get10Give10 winner! She won $10,000 for herself and donated an additional $10,000 to Autism Speaks.
Rescues Rock
Our third Rescues Rock event was a big success! We collected pet supplies and some stores partnered with a local animal rescue organization to host an in-store pet adoption event. Overall, we had 49 adoptions and 53 more adoption applications from these events! Plus, we gave six amazing rescues each a $10,000 grant to help with their needs. Congratulations to All Paws on Deck of Griswold, CT; Foothills Animal Rescue of Scottsdale, AZ; Furkids, Inc. of Cumming, GA; Muddy Paws Second Chance Rescue of Council Bluffs, IA; Sussex County Animal Association/Whimsical Animal Rescue of Seaford, DE; and Wings of Freedom Animal Rescue of New London, CT!
A Trophy Collecting Company
We’ve recently received even more accolades to add to our collection! Wireless Zone® was named an IndyStar Top Workplace and we also received four Culture Excellence awards from our Top Workplace USA survey responses: Innovation; Compensation & Benefits; Leadership; and Purpose & Values. Plus, we were just named to the Franchise Business Review Culture100 list, recognizing the top 100 franchise brands with the best culture. Thank you to our amazing team for continuing to make WZ a winning place to work!
April 2024
Wendy Supports the Alabama Law Enforcement Alliance for Peer Support
Wendy J. got involved with the Alabama Law Enforcement Alliance for Peer Support (ALEAPS) because her husband is a retired law enforcement officer. He had a 30-year career and has been retired for 14. During his career, he was an investigator in over 100 homicides, solving all but about five. Although this is an amazing accomplishment, during his retirement, he became obsessed with those unsolved cases; his mental health suffered, and he turned to alcohol.
After he was introduced to ALEAPS, he quit consuming alcohol and completely turned his life around. ALEAPS has helped hundreds of other retired law enforcement officers gain control of their lives and mental health, just like Wendy’s husband. Seeing their success firsthand, Wendy is now an active volunteer with the organization and supports them with community grants.
Aaron’s Place Volunteer Event
The Denton, MD, store participated in a food giveaway with Aaron’s Place, a nonprofit that helps the underserved with food, clothing, housing, and much more. They passed out food to over 100 families.
Salvation Army Volunteer Event
The SNYPA sales region leadership team volunteered at the Salvation Army in Tunkhannock, PA. They arranged clothes and furniture and cleaned. The location is very busy and was in need of the team’s support that day and their continued support in the future.
Emmanuel Dining Room Check Presentation
Organized by Mark T., the NJ/TRI region went to the Emmanuel Dining Room, run by The Ministry of Caring, to present them with their $2,000 grant. The team also held fundraisers to benefit the ministry. Mark has an extra special connection with the org since his mother is their administrative assistant, and his whole family volunteers there together.
Heaven’s Kitchen Easter Event
The Harrisburg store team had a great evening filling in for the Easter Bunny at Heaven’s Kitchen in Harrisburg, IL! A full house enjoyed a delicious meal, and a special visitor who brought gifts for everyone! They helped serve 360 meals that night, and they also volunteer here every Tuesday evening.
From Wireless Customer to Nonprofit Partner
Erik D. has been working with a nonprofit business customer, Heather, getting them all set up with internet and a new phone for their bulldog rescue, Muddy Paws Rescue. They have been a fun customer to work with, as there are always stories and lots of dog photos exchanged.
Heather needed some tech for a vaccination and chipping clinic they host every month, and Erik found three tablets to donate. These tablets will fix issues they had in the past getting dogs checked in for their vaccines when they can’t bring them inside the vet, because they could get them sick or spread diseases to the other animals.
Muddy Paws continues to help their local community in any way they can. When a tornado ripped through the Omaha and Iowa area in April causing extensive damage and flattening homes. Muddy Paws is working hard recovering and reuniting family pets that got lost during the storm. They’re supporting these pets with vet bills, and they’re also boarding dogs while families get their living situation figured out.
The Omaha Dodge store is partnered with Muddy Paws for the Rescues Rock pet adoption event, and they also received one of the $10,000 Rescues Rock grants!
Hogs for the Cause Volunteer Event
Dustin S. volunteered at an event in New Orleans called Hogs for the Cause, raising money for children and families battling pediatric brain cancer. His team raised over $100,000 and came in seventh place out of 91 teams!
Molly’s Recent Awards
Molly F. was recently recognized with two awards! She was named an OnCon Icon Top 50 L&D Professional, which is a peer-voted award determined by community and organizational observation of work. She was also named a Women We Admire (WWA) Rising Star for Consumer and Product Retail. This group recognizes and celebrates the achievements of women leaders around the world who have achieved notable success.
Top Chef Terre Haute
Cody M. participated in the annual Terre Haute Top Chef event for the Children’s Museum of Terre Haute, where community members compete to prepare the best dish of the evening while raising money for the museum. Cody’s Intergalactic Italian Beef was named the best entree of the event! He also donated a painting for the silent auction to help with fundraising and personally helped raise over $1,000 dollars for the event. Cody is constantly doing good in his community!
Sonshine Equine Horsemanship & Therapeutic Riding Center Volunteering
Jim U., Quashaun W., and Lexi F. from DE/MD/VA spent some time with Sonshine Equine Horsemanship & Therapeutic Riding Center. Sonshine Equine is a program that has therapeutic animals that support and empower individuals with disabilities, anxiety, depression, PTSD, and more.
Sunrise Therapeutic Riding Center Volunteering
Mariah S. and her EIN D7 team along with their families volunteered at the Sunrise Therapeutic Riding Center in Richmond, IN. They had a great time brushing ponies, clearing a fence line, and cleaning up around the facility.
Dream Alive Partnership
TCC received three awards from Dream Alive, an Indianapolis-based nonprofit that mentors youth from 7th-12th grade, helping them grow into civic-minded leaders and break the cycle of poverty. We received the Legends Award, recognizing the company that gave the most combined donations, volunteer hours, and in-kind support; the All-Star Award, recognizing our five years of partnership and collaboration; and the Best Career Exposure Trip where Dream Alive students visited our Store Support office and stores to see what it was like to work in all aspects of our industry.
Best Buddies Friendship Walk
Organized by RJ Z., TCC and Wireless Zone® participated in the annual Best Buddies Friendship Walk and raised nearly $10,000 for the program. These funds will help individuals with developmental and intellectual disabilities find jobs and friendships. This year, we were recognized with an award for the top fundraising team. Thank you all for your support!
Supporting West Union, OH
On the evening of April 2nd, the town of West Union, OH, was hit by a tornado, resulting in multiple homes destroyed and a large portion of the town without power.
The local Wireless Zone® store reached out to multiple local businesses and arranged a free lunch for the town that next day, supplying 57 pizzas for the town!
Connecticut Make-A-Wish Gala
Some Wireless Zone® team members attended the Make-A-Wish Gala in Connecticut. They granted a wish for a family with two daughters diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. The family received a camper with electricity so they could go searching for Bigfoot and continue the daughters’ treatment.
Check out what we were up to last quarter. And read all about our company’s giving here.
Want to shop at a company that works to make a difference? Visit a Wireless Zone® Verizon store near you now.