| SERVE branches out with tree planting and bowl-a-thon
Earth Day is universally set aside and celebrated to promote ecological concerns. But weeks earlier in April, 50 Shell Deer Park volunteers were already doing their part to enhance nature.
On April 4, Shell employees from the company’s Deer Park and corporate offices teamed with the Shell Federal Credit Union and Deer Park High School students to plant 500 saplings along the shoreline of the San Jacinto Museum of History. The plantings, which only took a couple of hours, will help restore the San Jacinto Battleground Park’s natural environment to its former glory. The saplings were donated by Trees for Houston.
Two weeks later, SERVE (Shell Employee and Retiree Volunteer Efforts) hosted a bowl-a-thon at Armadilla Lanes, in which 30 participants competed and raised $2,000 to benefit Sarah’s House. Nine teams solicited donations from their friends, family and co-workers to help keep the homeless shelter in Pasadena viable during these tough economic times.
Since September 2005, Sarah’s House has come to the aid of those who couldn’t help themselves, providing emergency living quarters, meals, clothing and basic necessities to homeless women and their children. The organization’s goal is to help the clients they serve become self sufficient and acquire the necessary education and life skills to improve their employment opportunities.
“The bowl-a-thon was a family-oriented event for a good cause and a new way to get people active and involved in the community,” says Candace Vaughn, environmental representative to Operations and president of the 2009 SERVE leadership team. “We’re delighted that the teams braved the rain to come out and bowl. This was our first bowl-a-thon so we kept it small, but we’ll build on it for next time.”
Peter Klemm, control systems engineer for the Phenol unit, also helped coordinate the bowl-a-thon. He adds: “I think everyone had a great time. This was a fun way to help a local charity and hang out with our co-workers. Now that we have started it, it will be easy to build on next year.”
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