Southern Glazer’s Rewards VolunCheer of the Year, Charities
Southern Glazer’s Wine & Spirits has announced the recipient of its 2022 VolunCheer of the Year Award, Lisa Flowers-Espinosa, customer service manager from Southern Glazer’s in Phoenix. VolunCheers is Southern Glazer’s grassroots employee volunteering and giving program that empowers team members to engage with charities in their local communities. These efforts are managed through the company’s enterprise-wide digital portal, VolunCheers Online, where employees can connect with each other, organize and promote volunteering and giving activities.
For the annual VolunCheer of the Year program, employees voted from among a group of 2022 VolunCheer of the Month winners to determine who would be selected to receive a prize of $5,000 donated to the winner’s charity of choice.
Flowers-Espinosa received special VolunCheer recognition for her efforts in hosting a donation drive for Youth On Their Own (YOTO), a charity that supports local youth with food, school supplies, toiletries, and academic support. In 2022, Flowers-Espinosa successfully spearheaded a donation drive benefiting YOTO by working with a local team of employee volunteers to collect donations to support the youth in her community facing homelessness. The charity was positively overwhelmed by the overflow of donations and commented, “This was the most donations we have ever received at one time!”
In recognition of her award, Flowers-Espinosa selected the Navajo Relief Fund and Boys & Girls Club of the (east) Valley to be the recipients of Southern Glazer’s $5,000 donation, with each charity receiving $2,500 on her behalf.
“The two charities that I have selected play a huge role in everything that I stand for, particularly a better future for youth and their families,” said Flowers-Espinosa. “The Boys and Girls Club serves over 13,000 young people in grades K-12 right in the center of my hometown. As a latch-key kid myself, I understand fully the need for after-school and summer programs for our children, especially youth at risk. Also, a large part of the Arizona population is Native Americans. The Navajo Relief Fund serves the largest Indian reservation in the United States, spanning over 16 million acres in Arizona, New Mexico, and Southern Utah. In the face of extreme poverty and adversity, it just felt right to help the families of Diné Nation (our Native Navajos).”
Southern Glazer’s also rounded out 2022 with its annual Holiday Giving Campaign, during which the company pledged to donate $25 for every volunteer hour logged by employees on VolunCheers Online throughout November and December. The beneficiaries of the campaign are the United States Bartenders’ Guild (USBG), Arbor Day Foundation, Dress for Success, and Feeding America, with 10 percent of total donations benefiting Southern Glazer’s Canada’s charity of choice, Sickkids.
Southern Glazer’s employees more than doubled last year’s results by logging 2,881 volunteer hours in support of diverse causes on VolunCheers Online, resulting in a total donation of $72,025 to support the five selected charities above. As a result of employees’ commitment to giving back, the USBG, Arbor Day Foundation, Dress for Success, and Feeding America will each receive a $16,205.62 donation and Sickkids will receive a $7,205.50 donation, to help further their meaningful work on behalf of Southern Glazer’s.
“Southern Glazer’s encourages volunteerism that fosters opportunity and belonging in the communities where we live and operate,” said Wayne E. Chaplin, chief executive officer. “Our employees are constantly finding ways to expand our volunteer footprint and increase their collective positive impact. The VolunCheers program here at Southern Glazer’s not only makes it easy for employees to find and initiate volunteer and fundraising activities, it allows us to recognize our employees’ commitment to change the world one action at a time.”
Month after month, Southern Glazer’s employees expressed their gratitude through meaningful charitable work. The company is proud to close 2022 with nearly 12,200 employee volunteer hours logged and 210 employee-led volunteer events organized to benefit more than 185 charities.
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