Welch Allyn Employees Participate in Company's Second "A Show of Hands" Volunteer Campaign in Beaverton
Over 170 employees spend the day giving back to the community
Beaverton, Ore., August 10, 2012—Welch Allyn, a leading global manufacturer of frontline medical products and solutions, sent over 100 employee volunteers to six nonprofit organizations across 10 different locations in the greater Beaverton area today as part of its second locally-based "A Show of Hands" corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaign. Another 70 employees were stationed at the company's Creekside Place facility assembling care kits for Heart to Heart International and the Portland Rescue Mission, learning kits for Medical Teams International, and writing cards for ill children and young cancer patients for Emanuel & OHSU Children's Cancer Hospital.
The volunteer initiative is part of the company's Beacon of Quality event, a designated date when the local facility is closed for the day to honor employees. The morning session included business updates and an award ceremony which recognized exceptional employees with the Beacon of Quality award—the highest Welch Allyn Quality Recognition Award bestowed on employees.
This is the second year the company has included its Beaverton facility. Traditionally, this summertime event consisted of an afternoon of music, food, games and team building activities. However, in recognition of the company's 95th anniversary in 2010, Welch Allyn chose to forego its traditional employee recognition festivities at its global headquarters in Skaneateles Falls, N.Y., in favor of giving back to the surrounding communities. The afternoon session became an opportunity for the company to help its neighbors as Welch Allyn employees took the day off to help paint, landscape, build, clean and assemble care packages for a variety of local nonprofit organizations in need of a helping hand.
"Welch Allyn employees truly stepped up today and helped their neighbors throughout the Beaverton and Portland areas," said David Allyn, fourth generation family member and director of CSR at Welch Allyn. "Some of our folks traveled to the Neighborhood House where they helped in the food pantry and landscaped gardens. Some went to Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation and worked on trail maintenance. And some stayed at the Beaverton facility and put together care and learning kits—it's our way of making a significant long-term difference to the community."
The first "A Show of Hands" event took place in the at the Welch Allyn global headquarters in the summer of 2010 and was created in response to numerous employee requests for opportunities to volunteer in the community. Over 600 Welch Allyn employees volunteered at 24 different nonprofit organizations in the area. In early July the company's Skaneateles Falls, NY, facility completed its third annual "A Show of Hands" with over 700 employees participating. This is the second year that employee volunteers at the Beaverton facility had the opportunity to give back to their community in a variety of ways.
"We had such a great response from employees two years ago that we decided to continue our 'A Show of Hands' initiative at the global headquarters and expand it to Beaverton again this year," added Allyn. "People have always looked forward to the annual Beacon of Quality event—even before we started volunteering, but for the past two years I have heard our employees talking about doing more. These are our neighbors we're reaching out to, so this level of involvement is really an investment in the communities where our over 300 local employees work, live and play."
About Welch Allyn
Founded in 1915 and headquartered in Skaneateles Falls, NY (USA), Welch Allyn is a leading global provider of medical diagnostic equipment and a complete range of digital and connected solutions. With 2,750 employees working in 26 different countries, Welch Allyn is a family-owned business that specializes in helping doctors, nurses, and other frontline practitioners across the globe provide the best patient care by developing innovative products, breakthrough technologies, and cutting-edge solutions that help them see more patients, detect more conditions, and improve more lives. More information about Welch Allyn and its complete line of connected products and solutions may be found at www.welchallyn.com.