Companies roll up their sleeves and give back (yours can too!)

June 09, 2022| Community, Environment, LHF Environmental & Cultural Center, People, Recreation

By: Caitlin Doran

Here at the Foundation, we love harnessing the power of corporate groups to do good work while providing companies that care about their communities and the environment an opportunity to engage their employees in volunteerism.

And that’s exactly what happened when we partnered with two companies, Shiseido and TIAA, on their give-back days, in May. We got a ton of great work done, both on the Lake Hopatcong Trail and in the native gardens at the LHF Environmental and Cultural Center.

Our first group, TIAA, did trail maintenance along the Lake Hopatcong Trail Spur, starting at the Hopatcong Senior Center. Their tiny but mighty team of three trimmed branches and sticker bushes, removed invasive garlic mustard, and replaced/added trail blazes as needed. This give-back day was coordinated by Earthshare New Jersey as part of its Corporate Green Day Challenge, and we are so grateful to Earthshare for connecting us with TIAA, whose volunteers’ shirts say it all, “Be a difference maker.”

Our second group, Shiseido, chose us as a partner for their “Beauty of Helping Others” activation day. Their group of nine volunteers built a model riparian buffer next to our native gardens and did some serious mulching, weeding, and transplanting. We hope to have them back this fall for a similar work party, as their fall activation day is all about the importance of clean water.

Both groups had volunteers travel to the lake from all over the state, the farthest volunteer traveling from the shore! We are so grateful to them and to these companies who made an investment of time and funds to help further these important initiatives. If your company or organization wants to help us with a timely project, please give us a call at 972-663-2500 or email Caitlin@lakehopatcongfoundation.org.