Warming Hands and Hearts Through Paid Volunteer Time Off

If you’re fortunate enough to work for a company who believes in giving back to the community and offering paid volunteer time off (VTO), you have an awesome opportunity to make a difference without detracting from personal and family time. Eberly Systems is a managed IT services provider who is fanatical about partnering with and giving back to local communities. They offer employees like myself four days a year that they will pay for us to volunteer with a nonprofit organization. It’s a great opportunity to get outside and in line to serve others less fortunate, and I’m thankful for an employer that values servant leadership.

Opportunity House is a Berks County, PA, nonprofit whose mission is to change lives and empower men, women, and children facing various obstacles. They serve local residents through a variety of services including a shelter, learning center, children’s alliance center, veteran support services, and a recycling program. With the many programs they facilitate comes a great need for donations and volunteers. I’ve been fortunate to volunteer with this incredible organization several times now by utilizing my company-offered (VTO).

I’ve volunteered primarily with their annual Souper Bowl and Golf Outing events. These events enable Opportunity House to raise funds towards sustaining and growing their services and to purchase resources needed to scale and serve more people.

The Opportunity House Souper Bowl is an annual fundraiser in the cooler months where local restaurants donate homemade soups for sale to the public. Before COVID, the event was a sit-down affair at a local banquet facility; in the last few years, portioned soup containers are given to patrons in decorated bags by children serviced by the nonprofit via drive-through pickup. I was one of the points of contact for the public receiving their orders. It was wonderful to join the ranks of volunteers knowing that not only did people go home to a warm, delicious dinner, but that we were contributing to delivering tremendous impact to adults and children very much in need.

In contrast to the chilly winter days of the Souper Bowl, at the recent Opportunity House annual Golf Outing I enjoyed managing a putting contest on a warm spring day. As the golfers made their way through the course to my spot on the green, I would encourage them to purchase a chance at the putting contest to raise extra funds for Opportunity House. The outing is always a fun time for a good purpose.

Because I know how important these events are to the success of Opportunity House, I’ve been happy to help them out at various events over the years. This was all possible because Eberly Systems believes in giving back to the community and encouraging the team to serve others both inside and outside the office.