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As the 2021 holiday season comes to an end, so does TPD’s annual holiday giving program, which was created to benefit community members (and animals) across the eastern United States. This program also helped TPDers continue to connect with one of our collective corporate values: The commitment to bettering our surrounding communities through charitable work and giving. Our staff, their families and our generous neighbors once again came together to make our “12 Ways of Giving” program a success!

2021 CHARATIES AND ORGANIZATIONS
Infographic of 12 Ways Charities

TPD extends a sincere thank you to everyone who participated, either via donation or volunteer efforts. We had over 50 TPDers volunteer for at least one of our events this year – not including those who participated more than once, family members who joined us along the way, or the countless TPDers who have helped via donations or in other ways.

Check out the photos of our people in action here and a summary of our “Ways” below.

EVENTS AND COLLECTIONS

1. Main Line Animal Rescue Volunteering
On Tuesday, November 16th, 15 TPDers visited the Main Line Animal Rescue (MLAR) in Phoenixville, PA to lend them a hand by volunteering for a few hours doing some property management tasks to make the MLAR’s walkways and trails safer for their animals, volunteer walkers and visitors. This work included pathway tree pruning, raking and mulching. We also presented them with a donation to their Medical Fund, which supports the onsite and specialty medical care needed by their rescues.

2. Operation 143 Collection
Operation 143, which is based out of Pottstown, PA, collects a specific list of food items that are packed into backpacks to feed food insecure students throughout communities across southeastern PA. On November 16th – the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, 10 TPDers (plus one family member) packed 75 bags with two weekends’ worth of food to be sent home with students. Motivated by the giving spirit of the upcoming holiday and their enthusiasm for helping, our volunteers sped through filling the bags with the 1,800 total items and asked for an additional assignment! Our group then organized their donation area to make life a little easier for Operation 143 staff and their volunteers when packing the bags that come next! TPD also delivered a donation during our visit.

3. The Paris Foundation Donation
The Paris Foundation is a non-profit organization located in Elkton, MD. It is named in memory of Leslie Carl Paris, honoring his many years of service to the poor and homeless in the community. On Tuesday, November 30th, five (5) TPD volunteers helped organize their food pantry and served COVID-safe to-go dinners to the Foundation’s 80+ guests that evening, as well as provided a monetary donation on TPD’s behalf. This donation helps fund their families’ holiday meals.

4. Wreaths Across America
Part of a larger national effort, the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies remembers and honors their veterans by placing wreaths on each of their 12,300+ veterans’ gravestones. TPD’s group sponsored 110 wreaths this year, and a team of our volunteers assisted with wreath placement and removal.

5. Today is a good day NICU Family Support
The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is never a place you want to find yourself, especially during the holiday season. Today is a Good Day is an organization started by a former NICU mom, who recognized the need for support of families with babies staying in the NICU. They provide care packages, signage for baby’s cribs, financial assistance, and more to help ease the stay for families in hospitals across the tri-state area. On Thursday, December 2nd, 20 TPDers and two (2) family members helped weave bonding squares – pieces of fabric that help babies and parents bond through smell – in our Pottstown, PA Conference Center, which will be inserted into NICU parents’ care packages.

6. Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutrition Alliance (MANNA) Volunteering
In an effort to continue to support MANNA in Philadelphia, PA, 11 TPDers joined together help MANNA staff prepare and package medically-tailored meals; these meals are like a prescription for people who suffer from life-threatening illnesses, and help these clients maintain a healthy diet. The meals that are prepared for their 1,200+clients follow 12 different specific diets, are all prepared in this Philadelphia facility, and shipped across the state. TPDers also delivered a donation during their visit.

7. Toys for Tots
Keeping up with annual tradition, TPD served as a Toys for Tots drop-off location. With help from community members, TPDers and family members, we collected 342 toys that went to local charities via the US Marine Corps Reserve’s program!

8. Ronald McDonald House Can Tab Collection
Ronald McDonald Houses (RMH) provide a home-away-from-home to families with a seriously ill or injured child during treatment. RMH collects aluminum can tabs to be recycled to help offset the House’s expenses. TPDers collected nearly 10 pounds of can tabs to donate to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central Pennsylvania this year!

9. Asheville Terrace Senior Apartments Cold Gear Drive
Asheville Terrace Senior Apartments is a subsidized apartment complex for seniors in need of extra assistance, supported by the federal government’s Housing and Urban Development (HUD), located in Asheville, NC. Many Terrace residents must walk down Tunnel Road, a bustling highway that TPD provided traffic and multimodal connectivity analysis for as part of a corridor study or wait on for public transportation in the elements. TPD conducted a cold gear drive to support the ~275 residents.

10. Santa’s Side Kicks
Members of our Freehold, NJ office teamed up to save Santa the trouble this year for two local children. Through the “Santa’s Sidekicks” program, they shopped for two children’s entire Christmas lists! Families who are less fortunate are chosen by local schools to be assisted each year in making their family’s holiday extra special.

11. The Center for Animal Health & Welfare Collection
The Center for Animal Health & Welfare is a private, no-kill shelter based out of Easton, PA. At any given time, they house approximately 100 cats, dogs, and other critters. This year TPD made a monetary donation to help the Center continue to support the critters who call their facility home, as well as collected donation items for delivery by our Bethlehem, PA office!

12. LifePath Donation Drive
LifePath provides programs and services to individuals of all ages with special needs throughout southeastern Pennsylvania. TPD collected new & gently used home goods from their wish list for their community homes, which provide housing for individuals in their program.