Contact: NOVEC Public Relations, 1-888-335-0500, [email protected]
MANASSAS, Va. – On Oct. 3, 2017, nearly 60 Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative and National Rural Electric Cooperative Association employees repaired five mobile homes at Elm Farm Park in Woodbridge as part of the cooperative employees’ joint “Supporting Our Communities Volunteer Day.” To add support, NOVEC, NOVEC HELPS -- the co-op’s group of employee volunteers -- and NRECA presented Project Mend-A-House with a $15,000 check on Oct. 25 during PMAH’s Taste of the Town fundraiser.
Supporting Our Communities Volunteer Day
On Volunteer Day, teams of co-op volunteers replaced the skirting on five mobile homes. They replaced doors and rotted wood. They caulked around windows, doors, and other openings to seal air leaks. And they made the homes safer for the elderly and low-income homeowners by rebuilding decks and stairs.
Cindy Fithian, NOVEC HELPS executive director, said, “We moved into the mobile home park like an army on a mission. Every volunteer -- including Stan Feuerberg, our president and CEO, vice presidents, engineers, administrators, meter readers, accountants, and line techs -- worked side-by-side.”
Ann Maria Laurenza, NRECA’s Insurance and Financial Services iCARE chair, agreed with Fithian and said, “NRECA staff trooped on site with tools and an abundance of enthusiasm to help achieve an ambitious single-day mission. Workers shared the spirit of cooperation as well as problem-solving skills.”
After seeing the home assigned to his team was “a challenge,” Bernie Cleveland, a HELPS board member, crawled under the home to apply heat tape to water pipes to keep them from freezing. He patched a hole in the home’s floor to keep summer heat and winter cold air -- and wildlife -- from entering.
Cleveland said, “To me, volunteering isn’t about what you do; it’s what you feel in your heart when you see how appreciative people are to have assistance. I look at it this way -- I may be the next one who needs some help. If everyone looked out for their neighbor, the world would be a better place. We’re supposed to ‘give back’ -- that’s the way I was brought up.”
Lori Kalaydjian, NOVEC’s facilities department manager, showed her team’s volunteers how to operate power tools. After learning the homeowner would have surgery the following day, Kalaydjian said, “Our team had extra motivation to make her deck, steps, and gate safe and secure.”
“It was inspiring to witness the collective determination of the group to deliver nothing less than quality repairs and safety improvements, in hopes of making life just a little bit easier for those struggling with bigger challenges,” Laurenza said.
Feuerberg said, “Many organizations talk about corporate citizenship, but for us – it’s the way we do business. We invest in our communities. NOVEC and NOVEC HELPS support charitable, health, and educational organizations in the communities we serve. By joining forces with NRECA employees, we accomplished a lot in a day!”
Jennifer Schock-Bolles, PMAH executive director, thanked the volunteers and said, “The energy, safety, and home repairs the co-op volunteers made will greatly improve the lives of the five homeowners helped on Oct. 3. Project Mend-A-House could not have done this without the generosity of NOVEC, NOVEC HELPS, and NRECA.”
Taste of the Town
Nearly 300 PMAH volunteers, supporters, and elected officials attended Taste of the Town on Oct. 25. They feasted on food donated by more than 30 local restaurants. NOVEC, NOVEC HELPS, and NRECA volunteers presented the $15,000 check while a video, produced by NRECA, showed teams at work on Oct. 3.
One of the elderly homeowners, Ms. Leigh Truax, thanked PMAH and Ann Phares, a NOVEC HELPS board member, in particular. “Miss Ann and two others stayed late to make sure my new stair steps and gate for my dogs were completed and secure.”
About NOVEC
NOVEC, headquartered in Manassas, Virginia, is a not-for-profit corporation that provides electricity to more than 166,000 metered customers in Fairfax, Fauquier, Loudoun, Prince William, Stafford, and Clarke counties, the City of Manassas Park, and the Town of Clifton. It also supplies natural gas and energy products and services to consumers in the Washington, D.C., region. The utility serves more customers than any electric co-op in Virginia and is one of the largest electric cooperatives in the United States. For more information, visit www.novec.com or call 703-335-0500 or 1-888-335-0500.
About NOVEC HELPS
NOVEC HELPS, Hands Engaged in Local Public Service, is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization of NOVEC employees who volunteer in the community. The HELPS board of directors votes on projects and events to support, whether with financial donations or with feet on the ground. Learn more at www.novechelps.org.
About NRECA
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, represents more than 900 of the nation’s not-for-profit, consumer-owned electric cooperatives, which provide energy and services to 42 million Americans in 47 states.
About Project Mend-A-House
Project Mend-A-House, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in Manassas, Va., serves low-income residents, seniors, veterans, and people with disabilities in Prince William County region. PMAH recruits volunteer carpenters, plumbers, painters, electricians, gardeners, and other willing workers to make minor home repairs and safety modifications for people in need. PMAH also loans certain home adaptive-living aids and provides fall risk-assessment screenings for senior-citizens. Learn more at www.pmahweb.org.
