Constant Contact EcoAd Advertising Funds Energy Recovery Ventilator for New Volunteers of America Massachusetts Bay Veterans Center
Dedication held celebrating new housing for homeless military veterans who will receive more support and social services thanks to cost savings from energy recovery ventilators
Somerville, MA, August 8, 2013 /3BL Media/ – Homeless military veterans in the metropolitan Boston area now have a greater chance to get back on their feet with a roof over their heads and access to a wide array of supportive services with the dedication last night of the new Volunteers of America Massachusetts Bay Veterans Center (MBVC) in Somerville, MA. The recently completed 15,000 square foot, three-story brick building has 22 transitional and seven permanent units of housing, and will provide services that help homeless veterans rebuild their lives.
Thanks to generous funding from Constant Contact’s EcoAd advertising through CBS EcoMedia Inc., the new Massachusetts Bay Veterans Center received a state-of-the-art Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) system. Recovery ventilation helps to lower energy demand by recovering and reusing the heat energy that would otherwise be lost when exhausted. In the summer months, exhausted air is used to cool and dehumidify the supply air. Not only does the ERV cut C02 emissions from the new facility, it also generates significant energy cost savings, which will make more money available for the MBVC’s services and on-site support.
Volunteers of America Massachusetts President and CEO Thomas Bierbaum hosted the new building’s dedication, held under a tent adjacent to the new veterans center. Special guests included Congressman Michael E. Capuano representing the 7th district of Massachusetts; Aaron Gornstein, Undersecretary for Housing and Community Development, Commonwealth of Massachusetts; Coleman Nee, Secretary of Veterans’ Services, Commonwealth of Massachusetts; Joseph Curtatone, Mayor of Somerville; Ed Hjerpe, President and CEO of Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston; and Reed Bundy, Senior Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility and Internal Communications at Constant Contact were also on hand to enjoy the dedication festivities, tour the new building and see the energy recovery ventilator system.
Thomas Bierbaum President and CEO of Volunteers of America Massachusetts stated, “The goal of the center is to provide formally homeless veterans an opportunity to get back on their feet and thrive in an environment where they feel supported. Along with housing, the veterans will have access to mental health counseling, employment and healthcare referrals, life skills training, homeless services, and recovery services to help them as they transition back into the community. We believe these services and on-site support will provide an ideal sober living environment for residents to achieve their goals.”
“Constant Contact is honored to be involved with this initiative and to have the opportunity to support such a vital community resource,” said Christopher M. Litster, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Constant Contact. “Our hope is that the Massachusetts Bay Veterans Center will give veterans from across the state access to the resources they need to thrive in their lives post-service.”
Using the energy recovery ventilator will recapture up to 75 percent of the MBVC’s exhaust air heat for reuse. This reduces the cost of heating and cooling the supply air due to the transfer of heat between the different air streams. The system has been designed to provide direct supply air to both the center’s corridors and each individual unit, generating substantial energy savings and cutting 10,171 lbs. of CO2 emissions annually.
“The transition from active military duty to civilian life is often a very difficult one,” said Paul Polizzotto, Founder and President of CBS EcoMedia Inc. “Now, with the opening of the new Volunteers of America Veterans Center, former military personnel in Massachusetts Bay will have the care and support services they so urgently need – and so richly deserve. It is EcoMedia’s mission to help bring quality of life improvements like the Center to communities across America, but we couldn’t do this important work without the support and commitment of our advertising partners. Today, I want to thank Constant Contact, which, through its participation in our EcoAd program, provided funding for the Center’s new energy recovery ventilator system. In addition to reducing carbon emissions, the system will lower the Center’s operating costs, allowing more resources to go directly to the men and women of Massachusetts Bay who have sacrificed so much for our country.”
About Constant Contact
Constant Contact wrote the book on Engagement Marketing™ – the new marketing success formula that helps small organizations create and grow customer relationships in today’s socially connected world. More than half a million small businesses, nonprofits, and associations worldwide use the company’s online marketing tools to generate new customers, repeat business, and referrals through email marketing, social media marketing, event marketing, local deals, digital storefronts, and online surveys. Only Constant Contact offers the proven combination of affordable tools and free KnowHow, including local seminars, personal coaching and award-winning product support. The company further supports small organizations through its extensive network of consultants/resellers, technology providers, franchises and national associations.
Constant Contact and the Constant Contact Logo are registered trademarks of Constant Contact, Inc. All Constant Contact product names and other brand names mentioned herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Constant Contact, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.
About Volunteers of America, Massachusetts
Volunteers of America, Massachusetts is a nonprofit organization committed to helping change lives. Our work focuses on providing care and services to those most in need and to those who are most vulnerable. We see the potential in everyone and help them to achieve what they thought was impossible. Our programs touch the lives of veterans, youth, adults and youth in recovery from addiction, elders in need of housing and assistance, and those in need of mental health services.
About CBS EcoMedia Inc.
At EcoMedia, we’re propelled by the desire to create positive social change; that’s been our mission since we founded the company in 2002. In 2008, after successfully partnering with CBS on a wide range of environmental projects, EcoMedia became the newest addition to the CBS Corporation portfolio, exponentially scaling our reach across television, radio, interactive, publishing and outdoor media.
Through our patent-pending EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd programs, an innovative twist on traditional advertising, advertisers are able to support much-needed local projects which in turn creates jobs, saves taxpayer money and improves the quality of life in communities nationwide. In the process, we’re fundamentally altering the advertising landscape, elevating the ordinary, traditional commercial – and media, in general – into a catalyst for tangible, quantifiable social change. Please visit ecomedia.cbs.com to learn more.
By participating in EcoMedia’s EcoAd, WellnessAd and EducationAd advertising programs, EcoMedia’s advertisers agree to provide funding for projects we believe will have a beneficial effect upon the environment, health and/or education within local communities. EcoMedia’s advertising programs are not certification programs nor are the EcoAd, WellnessAd or EducationAd logos seals of approval. EcoMedia does not in any way certify, endorse or make any representations about EcoMedia program advertisers, their products or services.
