With Giving Tuesday coming up next month on November 29th, we wanted to share one of the ways that Presbyterian Senior Living (PSL) supports not just the organization itself, but the people who truly make PSL what it is. Who’s that, you may ask? Our wonderful staff!
The idea around PSL’s Employee Giving Campaign all began around 16 years ago. There was an opportunity for staff at our numerous communities to contribute towards the purchasing of important items for their respective communities. At the start of it all, every year each community defined several specific items which would be beneficial to their community. This allowed people who were donating to know what their donation was going towards.
Over the years the item descriptions got broader, allowing for the money being donated to be used for more things. For example, in the start an item could’ve been listed as ‘patio furniture,’ whereas now we’d focus on donating towards ‘outdoor enhancements,’ This now allows for more needs to be met and more purchases to be made. Since 2004, over 3,700 people have helped by donating!
To give more insight on the topic, we talked to Staff Giving Champion Lisa Cirignano from Westminster Woods at Huntingdon to find out what her favorite parts of staff giving are.
Q: What does being a Staff Giving Champion entail?
- “Staff Giving is all about getting the word out and that’s what Staff Giving Champions do. We lay out all the options since giving is very personal. It’s important to reach out to anyone and everyone.”
Q: What does being a Staff Giving Champion mean to you?
- “It’s another way for us to represent the mission of PSL. Anytime I’m giving a tour of our (Westminster Woods) campus, I point out what the staff giving dollars have done for some of the residents and employees. It’s a great way to illustrate our mission to those who aren’t as familiar with our community or PSL in general.”
Q: How did COVID-19 change staff giving?
- “We had to make obvious changes like no in-person soup sales and other in-person fundraisers. But as we get back to pre-COVID operations, it’s a great way to bring the team together again in a unified way towards a common goal. It’s also a great way to recruit new hires and it speaks to our mission.”
So why exactly does staff giving matter and how does it support PSL’s mission? Your participation in donating sends a positive message to residents and others that you support. It shows that you care about the mission and community itself. This encourages others to join in on the Staff Giving Campaign, thus allowing communities to expand program activities and fund small capital items beyond budget means to make the lives of residents even better.
“Since our beginnings 90 plus years ago, philanthropy has been at the core of PSL. Today, it is in the hearts of our many donors who make possible the services we can supplement through their gifts to our philanthropic efforts. From the provision of residence assistance to community enhancements and resident enrichment, all are made possible because of gifts made to better the lives of the residents of PSL.” -Maggie Bowley, VP Resource Development, Presbyterian Senior Living
Are you a current staff member who wants to participate? There are many ways to donate! Some include:
- Donate money through payroll deduction
- One-time, recurring, credit card, check, etc.
- Community fundraisers
- Candy sales, sub sales, basket raffles
- Other community events
- Jean days, soup sales, furniture sales
- Visiting the Staff Gives website at pslstaffgives.org.
- And much more!
Not a staff member but still want to help? Visit www.presbyterianseniorliving.org/support-our-mission to see how you can help our organization thrive and read more about all our giving funds. Every gift matters!
