Since the start of the 2022-2023 Academic Year, School on Wheels of Massachusetts (SOWMA) delivered more than 7,000 customized, grade-level backpacks to students in need. Many SOWMA students share one bedroom with their families at a shelter, so a backpack serves as their personal space and “locker.”
As the next academic year is right around the corner, our Canton teammates are helping their community engagement partner ensure students have the tools they need to thrive in the classroom. In two hours, 65 of our colleagues filled 407 backpacks – a record for SOWMA.
In Michelle Sears’ (one of our Community Engagement team leaders from Operations) words, “Working with SOWMA is a blessing.”
Summer camp is usually associated with outdoor time enjoying nature. Well for some kids, it means learning how to start your own business and within two weeks, bringing your product to market. That’s exactly what a group of enterprising 5–12-year-olds attending United South End Settlements (USES) summer camp recently experienced, aided by Intact’s Boston-based team.
Over the course of two days, 13 Intact employees volunteered through our Community Engagement program to help these young entrepreneurs make braided string bracelets, all-natural fruit juices packaged in mason jars, keychains and more that were sold during a neighborhood marketplace event. We think Actuarial’s Ryan Sosebee summed it up best, “I am looking forward to doing this more often!”
Several members of Intact’s volunteer team are pictured below enjoying their time at USES.
Last week, Actuarial’s Anders Beyer and Caroline Palen joined HR’s Patty Cadogan and Carole Chiossi at the International Association of Black Actuaries (IABA) annual conference in Chicago. The IABA is a unique community of both students and experienced actuaries in an environment designed to elevate professional development, powerful connections, and networking. Our teammates hosted a table during the annual Career Networking Event to share the many opportunities for future and experienced actuaries at Intact. This year’s conference achieved an exciting IABA milestone, with a record of 600+ attendants – we are excited to have been part of it!
Our Farmington office’s Community Engagement team has been busy this summer, working with its local Chrysalis Center partners to offer support to its community. Recently, Cathy Marshall, who spearheads our relationship with the Chrysalis Centerjoined Diana Martin and Julie Aylward to spend an afternoon at a veteran’s home in nearby Bristol. The residents are veterans of all branches of military service, who live alone and may not have family nearby. Together they laughed, shared stories, listened to what was on each other’s minds – and were reminded they are not alone. Diana Martin who leads the Farmington Community Engagement group shared, “we are very excited to collaborate with the Chrysalis Center, to help support this organization in the many ways they give back to the community.”
Our team’s second outing brought us to a Foodshare in Bloomfield, CT where the team inspected, organized, and boxed food items over a two-day event. Our team (including some family members) “found it rewarding to help support a necessity like making food available to local families. We also value these opportunities for team building.,” added Diana.
Here is a glimpse:
Intact’s Diana Martin, Cathy Marshall, and Julie Aylward at the Veterans’ Home.
Intact’s Michele Stryeski, Dhanraj Kotian and his daughter Sai, Jen Capute, Nicole Jackson and her son Daniel, Cathy Marshall, Diana Martin and her son Eric, Vanessa DiVita, Susan Jones, Andrea Libby and Leslie Pane helped at the Foodshare event.
On July 26, 1990, President Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) into law. This landmark legislation protects all persons with disabilities from discrimination across public life. We join the ADA National Network in recognizing ADA’s 33rd anniversary and the significant work to promote equal opportunity for people with disabilities.
