The number is staggering: 5,000 pounds of donated items ranging from T-shirts to candy to “wet wipes” are collected by General Electric River Works employees and shipped off to Americans serving their country overseas.
This giant donation effort isn’t propelled by a charitable organization or a donation drive assembled over a several month-long period. The people involved in it are River Works employees who take time out of their lives to better the lives of others.
Employee volunteers involved in the donation effort know maybe a handful of the service men and women they are helping, but they receive a steady stream of grateful emails from Afghanistan and other locations around the world.
One email came from a soldier stationed in a remote outpost who said a GE care package’s arrival helped ease the discomfort of serving in a place without running water or any other life necessities easily taken for granted.
GE workers take pride in supporting American troops in their own way, and they are proud to see their volunteer effort attract donations from family members, friends and schools. Helping Americans abroad is only one facet of the River Work’s volunteer emphasis. Company employees spend time in Lynn schools renovating rooms, building bookshelves and science laboratories, and their efforts do not stop once the last paint can is empty or the last nail has been driven.
Scientists and engineers work with local students to introduce their professions to young people and to inspire young women to follow in the footsteps of women scientists. Defining STEM — science, technology, engineering and mathematics — is impossible to do in Lynn without including the volunteer work and inspiration provided by River Works employees. When it comes to being true to the motto, “bringing good things to life,” GE volunteers go the extra distance.
