VISTA Gives Back
2010 was a re-building year for many companies throughout the world. At VISTA we felt enormous gratitude for our success and for the ability to continue to grow in a challenging economic period of time.
What better way to express gratitude than to find situations where we can give back! For all of us at VISTA we felt that 2010 was a year to find ways to individually and as a company to give back to our society that is in tremendous need of revitalization.
Josh Liemer was the force behind our goal to give back to an organization called Best Buddies. Through his social networking in Miami and New York, Josh became a source in fund raising for this important organization that works with young people who need guidance and support as they develop into adulthood. The mission of Best Buddies is to establish a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment and leadership development for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Best Buddies utilizes social events to energize young professionals throughout the area to give back. This year Josh and our VISTA Team participated in special events, cocktail parties and bowling events that were sponsored as fund raisers for Best Buddies. Please enjoy the attached photos of our team while they were certainly enjoying the social elements of community service.
As Thanksgiving approached VISTA once again participated in Broward County’s Food Pantry Drive. This year, chaired by Geri Liemer and Bridgitte Knowles, VISTA collected more food than ever before. The entire team at VISTA participated in bringing in foods that were needed in our county. With unemployment in the state of Florida reaching staggering heights, more and more people are in need of food banks and homeless shelters. The Broward Food Pantry is instrumental in gathering healthy food to feed Florida’s homeless population. Our particular drive this year was to provide food for a healthy and hearty Thanksgiving Dinner. Linda Marcus, VISTA’s Controller, brought the most number of food items to the drive and won a Publix Gift Certificate from VISTA for her extreme efforts.
Prior to Thanksgiving, VISTA planned on giving back to our own employees. Our own Bridgitte Knowles and Dara Inong chaired this day. Our whole team enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving Breakfast. We decided that the usual bagels and donuts should be replaced by a traditional hot breakfast of eggs, pancakes, bacon and sausage.
This same day continued into the afternoon with VISTA’s First Annual Cookie Contest. Contestants included: Robb Radford from Calhoun Satellite, Josh Liemer, Arian de la Vega, Linda Marcus, Dara Inong, and Geri Liemer. Our first team of judges was Moody Amarante (Communications Coordinator), Dana Silver (Director of Emerging Technology) and David Cabeza (Director of Operations). Our Judges were tough on our contestants and put them through the baking ringer. The cookies were judged for three categories: creativity, presentation and of course taste, and the winner of VISTA’s First Annual Cookie Contest was Arian de la Vega for his family’s rendition of a shortbread cookie beautifully decorated as Turkeys. Next year we will all know that presentation wins cookie contests!!!!
And so, throughout the year, VISTA continued to give back. We contributed significantly to both a New York and South Florida fundraiser for the Christopher Ricardo Cystic Fibrosis Foundation headed by our esteemed Anthony DeVita.
VISTA also became intererested in the Children’s Rights Organization and gave significantly to their annual fundraiser this Fall.
Another ongoing charitable organization that VISTA participates in each year is the Koussevitzky Society of the Boston Symphony. Founded with the notion of teaching young people to pursue an interest in classical music, VISTA became annual contributors to this worthwhile cause. The Boston Symphony has its summer home in Tanglewood in Lenox, Massachusetts where music students from around the world come to study and perform.
At VISTA it is our goal to work hard, play hard and always remember others less fortunate than ourselves. Community service is a goal at VISTA and one that we will always prioritize.
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