These past three months, TCC and Wireless Zone® employees have been giving back and doing good in their local communities around the country! We are proud to provide the resources and opportunities for our team to get involved with causes they’re passionate about.
June 2023
Turning Point Volunteer Event
Angie, Parker, Shawn, and Dylan of the East Indiana District 7 team worked hard to organize a space for Turning Point Domestic Violence Service’s summer programming for middle schoolers. Every Wednesday throughout the summer, Turning Point is hosting a free lunch providing education on how to prevent sexual abuse.
ICADV Partnership
Facilities Coordinator Marjley Vestal has partnered with the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence. She helped the nonprofit receive a $5,000 Community Grant for new computers and docking station for their staff. Marjley is also an active volunteer with the nonprofit, serving on their special events committee. Most recently, she coordinated TCC’s participation in their 5K Race Away from Domestic Violence Run, Walk, and Roll.
SAGE’s June Pride Events
The SAGE (Sexuality and Gender Equality) CORE group held some great events for Pride month. They hosted their second annual Evening of Pride fundraiser that benefited Muncie OUTreach, Delaware County, IN’s only LGBTQ youth group. They started the night with a mocktail mixer with three of our MEGA Grant finalists: the Damien Center, Indiana Youth Group, and Trinity Haven, as well as Muncie OUTreach and More Than a Phone. There were keynote speeches from Laura (head of Muncie OUTreach) and Brelynn (More Than a Phone presenting More Than a Statistic). Glinda B Fierce was the drag queen performer, and they were honored to come support, entertain, and raise money for Muncie OUTreach as someone who was saved by this organization as a kid. There was also a silent auction featuring concert and sports tickets, jewelry, cosmetics, and much more. Overall, they raised $3,000 that night, which is double what was organically donated last year! In June, SAGE also walked in the Indiana Pride parade with More Than a Phone.
Relay For Life Event
After losing one of her closest friends to cancer, District Manager Serena Aguila wanted to get involved. Volunteering with Relay For Life seemed like the perfect fit for an event with her region since cancer has affected so many people. Despite pulling an all-nighter the day before to make a cardboard spaceship for the event, the all-night event was a success with a sponsorship walk, games, an emotional luminaria ceremony, and much more.
Adam Dailey, Kaycee McCane, Alaina McMorine, Alexander Hogue, Luis Bermudez, Enrique Carbajal, Richard Kimball, Michael Bechtold, Jason Buck, Kory Krall, Trevor Ingram, Alexis Ingram, Derek Sandoval, Alex Ortiz, Will Tighe, and Alysa Hughes were in attendance. Overall, this event raised $51,595 for the American Cancer Society.
Sunrise Senior Living Partnership
The DART Team made goody bags for the seniors at Sunrise Senior Living for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. For Mother’s Day, they had a local 2nd grade class help make some cards too! The team distributed these bags at their luncheons, where they also volunteered and served food.
National Donut Day Event
On National Donut Day, the Indirect Team delivered donuts and coffee to first responders at the Henry County Fire Station #15 in Hampton, GA.
High Hopes Volunteer Event
Desiree Cormier of the finance team organized an event with High Hopes, a nonprofit that provides therapeutic horseback riding for individuals of all ages with cognitive, physical, behavior, psychological, or sensory disabilities. The Store Support team cleaned up after their June Gala – Bonds of Strength at the Big Barn Bash.
Fort Ritchie Historical Museum Volunteering
James McFarland is passionate about supporting the Fort Ritchie Historical Museum in Cascade, MD. This museum is on an abandoned army camp used during WWII. James works with the nonprofit group that is raising funds for the museum and has photographed images they use in marketing materials and in the actual museum, provided prints that they sell in their gift shop, and photographs their events.
James loves getting to work with the museum and seeing its impact firsthand in the community. This museum is touching the lives of many and is giving well-deserved recognition to these WWII heroes and their families.
Delhi Township Charity Event
Jonathan Breier, Hershel Martin, John Faro, and Mike Ramos attended a charity event of the local police department in Delhi Township.
MARK Volunteer Event
Some Store Support employees and field leaders attended a local charity event for MARK, a nonprofit that provides counseling for individuals with cancer. They were also joined by their local Verizon rep at this event.
We’re proud of the Southeast Pennsylvania region for their involvement in their local communities:
Homes4Hope Volunteering
The Southeast PA, New Jersey Tri, and Delaware/Maryland/Virginia sales regions make doing good a part of their new hire training. These regions have partnered with the nonprofit Homes4Hope after a counselor reached out to Field Trainer Allia Perez because he saw her posts about TCC doing good on social media. During their new hire classes, they put together blessing bags with notes of encouragement for men in recovery from substance use disorder.
Hospice & Community Care Volunteer Event
The Southeast Pennsylvania sales region helped garden for Hospice & Community Care, an organization that provides medical, emotional, and spiritual support for individuals and families coping with a life-limiting illness. They focus on comfort for individuals of all ages with any serious illness who have weeks or months left to live. This nonprofit helped a SEPA employee’s dad in his last days before he passed away.
Agape House Volunteer Event
The Southeast Pennsylvania sales region volunteered with Agape House in Gettysburg, PA, and spent the day cleaning. This nonprofit is a family shelter that offers fully furnished apartments along with programs and opportunities for these individuals to become integrated into the community. They help their clients find employment, housing, childcare, and educational resources.
LifePath Christian Ministries Partnership
The Southeast PA, New Jersey Tri, and Delaware/Maryland/Virginia sales regions new hire classes make blessing bags to deliver to LifePath Christian Ministries. This nonprofit helps struggling, men, women, and children by providing food, shelter, and connection to support services, and is an organization that these regions have an ongoing partnership with.
May 2023
Dream Alive Awards
Dream Alive recently held their Blue Carpet event for the ’22 – ’23 senior graduates. Sarah Mitchell and Tyler Crouch attended the event and were honored to receive two awards on TCC’s behalf! TCC was named the Inspired Company of the Year and Best Career Exposure Trip. There were eight total awards given that night, and Dream Alive works with 75 companies, had 86 field trips, and 24 career experiences throughout the year.
Cats Haven Volunteer Event
Store Support employees Carlos Rosales, Molly Fields, Melina Ruggeri, Hannah Rice, and Dawn Hansbarger volunteered at Cat’s Haven.They did yard work and cleaned up the place in preparation for their open house event. The training department has a longstanding partnership with this local nonprofit, and we love to see their continued support!
Rescues Rock 2023
During the month of May, our stores partnered with a local animal rescue organization to collect pet supplies. Select TCC and Wireless Zone® stores also hosted in-store pet adoption events and helped dogs and cats in need find their forever homes!
Rescues Rock Big Impact Grants
As part of our Rescues Rock event, we also wanted to give one animal rescue organization a $10,000 grant to use for animal medical needs. Once we had narrowed it down to our three finalists, we quickly realized it would be impossible to choose just one winner. Congratulations to Change a Life Dog Rescue of East Haddam, CT; Open Door Animal Sanctuary of House Springs, MO; and Pet Rescue, Inc. of Harrison, NY who all received a $10,000 grant!
IndyStar Top Workplace 2023
TCC received the IndyStar Top Workplace award for the fourth year in a row! Wireless Zone® also received this honor for the first time in 2023. On top of the main award win, we also received four individual awards for innovation, compensation & benefits, leadership, and purpose & values! This award was determined solely on feedback from our Indiana employees.
Protectors of the Past Volunteer Event
Store Support employees teamed up with Protectors of the Past to rehab another veteran cemetery. They located and rehabbed headstones from the revolutionary war and the civil war! They also presented the organization with a $2,000 grant check from TCC Gives.
Living Proof Exhibit Partnership
Ginny Hughes, Dealer Regional Manager of the Illinois/Iowa/Missouri sales region, has partnered with the Living Proof Exhibit for 5+ years, supporting and assisting in many ways. The Living Proof team provides creative outlets through art and design for all individuals impacted directly by cancer. This past month, Ginny and Northeast Dealer Director Paul Duyvejonck were able to present the nonprofit with a $4,000 grant from TCC Gives.
Shout out to the East Indiana sales region for continuing to get out into their community and do good!
CASA Volunteer Event
Jessica Duffel and Sarelia Rios Garcia of the Madison, IN, store cashiered an auction at CASA of Jefferson County. CASA provides one-on-one court advocacy to abused, neglected, or abandoned children who are dependents of the juvenile court. They help these children find a safe, permanent home.
La Casa Amiga Volunteer Event
Sarelia Rios Garcia, Andrew Melton, Tim Wiseman, and Katelyne Purvis of the East Indiana sales region volunteered at La Casa Amiga’s Food Drive By, where they helped prepare and sell Hispanic food as a fundraiser for the nonprofit organization. La Casa Amiga provides resources for the Hispanic community that include learning English, finding housing, enrolling their children into school, helping with translations, medical and legal needs, hosting bilingual summer programs for children, and much more.
Turning Point Volunteer Event
Team members from the District 7 team in the East Indiana region volunteered at Turning Point domestic violence shelter, a More Than a Phone partner and recent grant recipient. They assembled informational packets for high school students on domestic violence awareness and resources.
Scott County Humane Society Volunteer Event
Team members from the E IN sales region volunteered at the Scott County Humane Society and painted a fence. This event was organized by the District 6 team along with members of the Scottsburg store.
April 2023
Best Buddies Friendship Walk
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Best Buddies Friendship Walk around the country! Because of the huge amount of support we provided, we were named the top corporate office for fundraising for the second year in a row.
Dream Alive Career Fair
We continued our partnership with Dream Alive, a nonprofit mentoring organization in Indianapolis. Dream Alive helps break the cycle of poverty by helping youth discover career paths and mentoring them from 7th grade through high school graduation. Dream Alive students visited the Store Support office for a career fair and participated in fun and educational activities with each department.
Dunkirk, MD, Diaper Drive
Krystal Kiger organized a diaper drive at the Dunkirk, MD, TCC store for local mothers in need. If a family doesn’t have enough clean diapers, a baby will have to stay in a single diaper all day long or longer, increasing the risk of infection. This diaper drive will keep babies cleaner and safer, and it will help alleviate the high cost of diapers for families.
Special Spaces Room Makeover
Christina Wilson, district manager in the South Illinois/East Iowa sales region, partnered with the nonprofit Special Spaces of St. Louis for a grant after she learned about the organization from a customer. This grant helped create a special space dream room makeover for Eric, an 8-year-old with stage 4 liver cancer and severe autism. Even though Eric is nonverbal, everyone could tell from his body language that he absolutely LOVED his new space!
More Than a Phone Packing Party
Five Verizon employees attended a More Than a Phone packing party! They helped create the packages of phones and SIM cards that we send to the domestic violence shelters More Than a Phone and our stores partner with.
Midwest Food Bank New England Partnership
The Northeast Pennsylvania/Connecticut region leadership team and their Verizon Territory Client Partner visited the Midwest Food Bank New England. This region has built a special relationship with this organization and has supported them through volunteering and TCC Gives grants. At this volunteer event, they prepared 1,320 bags of meals that will feed 5,280 people.
Technology Saves Lives
Patrick Lynch received a text from a customer whose Apple Watch helped save their life. Their watch beeped with a high heart rate alert – their heart rate was abnormally high at 170 but they weren’t having any other symptoms. After getting this alert, they went to the hospital to get it checked out and found out they had a blood clot.
Top Franchise Influencer Award
Wireless Zone® Executive Director of Development Keith Dziki was named a 2023 Top Franchise Influencer by 1851 Franchise! This list recognizes the influential people that you need to know in the franchise industry. Read his profile here.
Waterford Country School Volunteer Spotlight
Waterford Country School is a K-12 school that helps students with specialized emotional and behavior needs. Wireless Zone® owner Scott Gladstone was recognized by Waterford Country School for the huge amount of support he’s given to them over the years. Scott has generated close to a million dollars in funds, runs amazing special events, served as Agency Ambassador, offers business and fundraising help, and tirelessly networks for the school. Congratulations, Scott! This recognition is well-deserved. Read his article here.
WIC Diaper Drive Volunteering
The Special Supplemental Nutritional Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) aims to safeguard the health of low-income women, infants, and children. Managers from the Florida East sales team helped at a WIC diaper drive and offered business support through Verizon’s Affordable Connectivity Program.
Spotlight on our Washington/Idaho sales region for getting out into their local communities and doing good!
Trellis Center Volunteer Event
The Washington/Idaho District 4 and District 5 sales region teams volunteered at the Trellis Center. This organization fosters a sense of purpose and belonging in teens and adults with developmental disabilities.
Tacoma Rescue Mission Volunteer Event
The Washington/Idaho District 6, District 7, and District 8 sales region teams volunteered at the Tacoma Rescue Mission. They cleaned, prepped, and served food for the unhoused. They also had the opportunity to get to know people in this community.
YWCA Volunteer Event
The WA/ID DW team volunteered at the YWCA packaging bowls, soups, and meals for local families in need.
At TCC, we give back year-round. Learn all about our good initiatives here.