Our Inspiring Community Engagement in 2023

As we wind down to the end of the year, we’d like to take the chance to reflect on our community engagement, charitable giving, and volunteer events of 2023.

Donation Drive for Local Classrooms

Our first event of the year was a donation drive to support local classrooms through DonorsChoose, an online platform where teachers can request funding for special projects or resources that their classroom needs. With schools chronically underfunded in the US, much of the financial burden for going above and beyond falls on teachers, and that’s something we at IP Services would love to help mitigate. During our donation drive this year, we donated over $1,000 to five local classrooms, helping purchase hygiene supplies, snacks, new lamps, books, and other educational materials.

Volunteer Event at Asbury Woods

The next event we hosted was in May, when we volunteered at Asbury Woods, a local nature reserve and education center. Our volunteer event was with the Buckthorn Bandits, the weekend warriors who combat the invasive species known as buckthorn. We got a lot muddier than we expected, but we were able to clear the buckthorn out of our designated patch of forest. You can read more about our adventure with the Buckthorn Bandits here: Giving Back with the Great Buckthorn Bandits.

Fundraiser for the Inner-City Neighborhood Art House

During the summer, we held our third annual fundraiser event in partnership with local restaurant Calamari’s Squid Row. This year, the fundraiser was to benefit the Inner-City Neighborhood Art House, which provides free after-school, summer, and community art programming for local children, including physical art, digital art and animation, performance art, literature and environmental action. Together with Calamari’s, IP Services was able to raise over $1,500 for this organization.

Volunteer Event at Second Harvest Food Bank

In July, the IP Services management team took time out of their busy schedules to volunteer together at the warehouse of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania, where they helped sort and pack donated food items to be allocated to those in need through one of the many programs and food pantries Second Harvest supports. Second Harvest provides more than 10 million meals each year in 11 counties of Northwest Pennsylvania. You can read more about our long history supporting local food banks and pantries here: The Fight Against Food Insecurity.

Donation Drive for Harvest912

Our next event was in September, when we held a donation drive to benefit Harvest912, a local nonprofit startup that runs mobile foot clinics where people who are homeless can receive free foot care, new shoes, and other basic necessities. Our company goal for the donation drive was to fund a mobile clinic event, which costs $375. We surpassed that goal, donating over $420 to this organization.

Annual Food Drive for Local Food Banks

November was our annual food drive, which primarily benefitted Second Harvest Food Bank. This year, we also gave our remote staff the option to donate to their own local food banks. Together, we donated over $2,000 and over 450 food and non-food essential items to local food banks.

Annual Pet Calendar Fundraiser

Our first event of December was our annual pet calendar fundraiser, in which employees of IP Services could submit pictures of their pets to be featured in a calendar, which we then sold to employees. Through profits from calendar sales and other donations, we were able to raise $300 for this year’s nominated pet charity, Saving Shepherds Rescue.

Annual Christmas Family Charity

Our final event of the year was our annual Christmas family charity, in which we give Christmas gifts to several local families in need. This year’s families were nominated by Erie United Methodist Alliance, which provides shelter, support, and rehousing services to those who are homeless in our community.

We were so pleased to be able to make a difference in our community this year, and we’ve already started making plans for accommodating our recent international expansion in 2024.

You can read more about our previous year’s community engagement here:  Community Engagement in 2022.