GE Lighting Volunteers Unite in Day of Caring

• More than 425 GE Lighting volunteers renovated Fairhill Partners campus, a Cleveland-based nonprofit, during the 15th annual GE Lighting Global Community Day on August 2, 2013
• Lighting teams in India cleaned up and painted children’s classrooms, as well as planted saplings and provided lunch to children at an area orphanage
• Teams in Hendersonville, N.C., joined forces with Habitat for Humanity

The scent of fresh paint filled the air as a handful of GE Lighting employees stroked their paint brushes against the walls of a short-term stay shelter at Fairhill Partners, a Cleveland-based nonprofit focused on successful aging and lifelong learning in the Greater Cleveland area. Across the campus, volunteers drilled nails into exercise equipment that would soon take the shape of a new playground for K-8 children.

These are just two of the more than 40 architectural and landscaping projects that GE Lighting and GE Energy employees completed when they renovated Fairhill Partners Campus as part of the 15th annual GE Lighting Global Community Day in Cleveland on August 20 The event was not only celebrated as part of the global GE Volunteers initiative, but celebrated in conjunction with the United Way Greater Cleveland Days of Caring, a program in which volunteers take a day to give their time and talent to benefit a United Way partner or funded agency.

“United Way of Greater Cleveland recruits people and organizations that bring the passion, expertise and resources needed to get things done in our community,” said Bill Kitson, United Way president and CEO. “We are grateful to GE for helping to advance education, income and health in Greater Cleveland through volunteerism.”

Stephanie FallCreek, president and CEO of Fairhill Partners, explained that the labor and help from GE Lighting employees renovating the campus will greatly improve the facilities and services offered to more than 23,000 Clevelanders who turn to Fairhill every year for support. The campus provides short-term housing, assistance for adults searching and applying for benefits, and on-site schooling, among other opportunities.

“We were thrilled to be chosen for GE’s Cleveland Global Community Service Day, and the projects the volunteers completed will advance our mission significantly,” said Stephanie FallCreek. “From a major playground upgrade to renovating two classrooms and improving the Guest House for temporarily homeless citizens, every project speaks to lifelong learning, intergenerational relationships and successful aging opportunities that truly help us strengthen our community.”

Along with building a playground and painting facilities, volunteers refloored the on-site summer camps and classrooms for children to attend classes. In addition, they planted trees and shrubs to beautify the Fairhill campus and assist in its LEED certification. The projects brought more than $240,000 in improvements to the camp in donation of volunteer time and supplies.

In addition to the Cleveland-based Global Community Day, GE Lighting teams in India completed a variety of volunteer projects at Abhayadhama Human Development Centre in Bangalore. Approximately 40 GE Lighting volunteers cleaned up and painted children’s classrooms, as well as planted saplings and provided lunch to children.

Twenty-five GE Lighting volunteers and their family members in Hendersonville, N.C., also lent their helping hands in June at a Habitat for Humanity event called “Blitz Build.” The volunteers framed a three-bedroom, two-bath home for a person in need in the community.

Read about GE Lighting Volunteers on the GE Citizenship website.