For the past several holiday seasons, I have been gratified to watch the progress of our Sales team’s drive for holiday donations. The pile of toys, essentials for a women’s shelter, and canned goods for a food pantry would get larger every day—it was really heartwarming to see the generosity of our employees.
This past year, I decided we should set up a similar donation drive in our Human Resources department. Since Sales had the humans covered, it seemed like a good choice to have our drive focus on animals in need—but which organization? There are so many to choose from: Best Friends Society, where I had volunteered a few years earlier; the Farm Sanctuary in New York; and the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Colorado were just a few that came up as possibilities.
But then the perfect match presented itself: the Animal Rescue League (ARL) of Bedford, NH. My own dogs were trained there, many of our employees already regularly donate there, and the Director is married to one of our employees. Since my colleagues in IT are fond of sharing their funny dog stories, I got them involved too. Before long, the donations started rolling in: towels, blankets, toys, food. Every day, I got to see big smiles on our employees’ faces as they dropped off their donations.
At the end of the drive, my colleague Jessica Weysham and I packed my car up with the donations and delivered them to the ARL. They gave us a tour and introduced us to some of the animals. Jess came this close to adding a third pit bull to her family, and I was enamored with the jumpy dog who kept giving us the side-eye. I was delighted to learn his adoption was in progress. We left feeling pleased that our donations would not only help the animals, but also help the ARL continue the good work they do in our community.
It was wonderful to help an organization that I and so many of our employees connect with on a personal level. With our new donation drive, Connection has both the humans and animals in need in our community covered. We’re glad to play a part.
Alicia Arnold
Alicia has more than 29 years of experience including 10 years as a Staffing Manager in the temporary help industry. In her free time, she enjoys boating, hiking with her dogs, traveling, and enjoying a laugh with just about anyone—but especially her family.
