TRG Employees Stuck On Charity
St. Louis-based TRG Group employees joined together for the first in a series of events to help raise money for the March of Dimes campaign. The official kick off began with a TRG sponsored event, “The Fly on the Wall” which culminated in the literal taping of two TRG employees to the lunchroom wall (all in the name of good fun and charity, of course).
“The Fly on the Wall” fundraiser began with the generous participation of six employees (contestants), including Becky Pessin, vice president/controller; Ed Travis, executive vice president—leisure brands; Laurie Gilner, president—travel gear division; Jason Morris, vice president of brand operations; Luke Smith, product designer and Jacque Woosley, sales operations manager.
Each of the six volunteers received a designated container with his or her name on it to collect charitable donations. During the contest period from March 3 to 7, TRG employees dropped dollar donations or spare change into the containers of the contestants they most wanted to see duct tapped to the lunchroom wall. In return for each dollar donated, employees were given one yard of duct tape to stick their potential “fly” to the wall.
In a very close race, the top charity earners were Travis and Morris. Both employees showed tremendous team spirit and were taped to the TRG wall during their lunch hour for a good cause. In total, TRG raised over $1,300 for the March of Dimes during the first week of fundraising.
Event organizer and 2008 March of Dimes team captain, Sarah Paikai said, “The event was a huge success. Not to mention hilarious to see our colleagues taped to our lunchroom wall.” Co-captain Dana Akers said, “It’s really a fun way to get involved for charity. It couldn’t have been such a success without the loyal support of our fellow employees.”
March of Dimes has raised more than $1.7 billion to fund research and programs to prevent premature birth. In 2007 March of Dimes raised over $2 million through pledges and donations.
TRG Group Continues Katrina Recovery Aid
As part of a recent community service project, the TRG Group participated in a relief effort at Coghill Elementary School in New Orleans, to help restore and beautify the school’s grounds that were battered by hurricane Katrina.
Despite the rainy weather, TRG volunteers were on hand to make enhancements to the school by painting murals inside the gymnasium, cafeteria, assembly room and hallways using stencils and freehand sketches. Picnic tables and benches were assembled on the main school grounds and in the recess field. Wooden trashcan covers were constructed and decorated in bright colors. Volunteers assembled bookshelves for the library/media room and restocked the shelves with books so the children could begin to use the room again. The school also received a new entrance sign with a hand-painted rendering of the school’s Cougars mascot.
Coghill Elementary School’s motto, “We can and we must make a difference,” was a befitting theme of the day as TRG volunteers worked together for the purpose of making the school environment a better place for all to learn. As the day came to a close, students from each grade level presented handmade thank-you cards and posters to the entire group of volunteers. In return, TRG and Centric Group presented students with a donation of sporting equipment, soccer balls, jump ropes, hula hoops, footballs, baseballs and baseball bats.
Andrew Spellman, vice president of sales–corporate markets said of the experience, “The joy you feel from seeing the awe in their faces, and to hear their laughter was really moving to each of us. To be able to affect these children in such a positive way is the best thing we accomplished the entire day. It was an experience I’ll never forget.”
In all, 23 managers and guests of TRG assisted with the effort. The school has approximately 400 students enrolled from pre-K through 8th grade, who have been attending classes in modular units near the site of the original school grounds for the past two years.
For more information on the TRG Group, visit www.trgcorporate.com
About the TRG Group:
The TRG Group is a leader in the design, production, sales and strategic marketing of travel gear and accessories. Its stable of brands include Victorinox Swiss Army Brands Travel Gear, Soren, Callaway Golf and eta. They also develop private-label travel gear and accessories for major retailers throughout the country.
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