Giving back over the winter holiday season
Our employee groups in the US have been helping their local communities, providing much-needed meals, toys and toiletries.
As we all know, this is the time for giving. And this year, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve all learnt to appreciate the importance of community and caring for one another more than ever.
Putting the spirit of giving into action, our Alliance of Black Professionals (ABP) members volunteered at Soco Restaurant in Brooklyn, New York for their Thanksgiving turkey giveaway event. Three hundred turkeys were given to local residents, Woodhull Hospital in Brooklyn and local nursing homes.
The ABP also took part in the Brooklyn Borough Hall Thanksgiving giveaway, when fresh produce and other food staples were given to those in need. Busy members also organised collections of socks, hats, scarves, colouring books, markers, note pads and toiletries for the residents at the Central Park Rehab & Nursing Center.
The event came at the same time as reports that food insecurity is expected to rise by 38 percent throughout New York City in 2020, as a result of the pandemic.
Committed to helping local communities
Renee McClure, our Manager of Community and Customer Engagement, said: “National Grid is committed to helping those that live and work in the communities that we serve. As the local energy provider, we are part of the Brooklyn community and are joining the Borough President during these difficult times to ensure that every family enjoys a warm Thanksgiving meal.”
In Massachusetts, the ABP has worked with the Department of Children and Families for a virtual Christmas toy drive.
Essential COVID community outreach work
Our Hispanic Professional Association (HPA) has been heavily involved in community outreach work in Downstate New York since July, to combat the negative effects of COVID. One of their major collaborations has been with the New Immigrant Community Empowerment (NICE) organisation. NICE gives help to in-need minority communities, with a focus on people who are in danger of exploitation.
For the last five months, HPA member Sebastian Gomez has organised fellow members in Downstate New York to support NICE, by doing meal deliveries in communities heavily impacted by the COVID pandemic. HPA will continue to help until the end of March 2021.
Delivering this food during the holiday season has lifted a financial and mental burden from countless families anxious about where their next meal would come from.
