Philanthropic program reaches out to communities served by the company
Edinburg, VA – In the spirit of deepening the connection between Shentel and the communities the company serves, the Shentel Community Connections Program (CCP) collected food, donated some elbow grease, picked up trash, and brought smiles to families, the elderly and veterans during the holidays and throughout 2015.
The CCP was launched in early 2015 as an internal initiative to guide the company in charitable giving activities for years to come. This program gives employees the chance to participate directly in a calendar of volunteer opportunities throughout the year.
“We are very proud of all the hard work and results that came out of our philanthropic push last year,” said Willy Pirtle, Senior VP of Marketing and Sales for Shentel. “These volunteer efforts support our internal philosophy of making a deeper connection within the communities where we work and live, making them a better place for our neighbors and customers. We are excited to see how the Community Connections Program has evolved this year, and we have great plans for future projects.”
Earlier last year, Team Shentel volunteers combed a two-mile stretch of US Route 11, which runs in front of a series of Shentel offices and turns into Main Street in Edinburg, Va. Following that, the entire company participated in the Summer Backpack Program. Employees collected food in four states — Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland — specifically for food-deprived children. These kids normally depend on free and reduced-cost lunches for nutrition, but in the summer that is not an option. In a two-week food drive, staff collected more than 3 tons of food, which was distributed to area food banks specifically for those kids.
In October, Shentel took on the revitalization of six community parks in their footprint. The company made monetary donations, and dozens of employees spruced up parks in the communities of Radford, Keysville, Edinburg and Front Royal, Va., as well as in Lebanon, Pa., and Hagerstown, Md. The volunteer efforts included painting, spreading tractor-trailer loads of mulch, installing fencing, clearing brush and cleaning up debris in city parks, as well as an animal shelter and dog park.
Shentel also gave monetary donations to cover things such as the installation of new playground equipment in the spring for various parks, a tracking dog for missing person searches in Montgomery County, as well as landscaping, new park signs, grills, fencing materials and picnic tables.
The year wrapped with The Big Give in December. Shentel employees created teams, and each team took on a project; many adopted families. Some did volunteer work, and others brought gifts to the elderly in nursing homes. In one case, the team outfitted a Social Services room that is used for children who have to be removed from their families with stuffed animals, pajamas and movies. Shentel provided gift cards for food, and employees gathered toys, clothes, shoes, coats and anything else on their adoptees’ lists. Shentel staff donated almost $20,000 to make this project happen.
Shentel’s CCP Committee is developing future charitable events for the company to participate in in 2016. To keep up with CPP employee volunteer efforts throughout the year, visit Shentel on Facebook or go online at www.shentel.com.
About Shenandoah Telecommunications
Shenandoah Telecommunications Company (Shentel) provides a broad range of diversified communications services through its high speed, state-of-the-art network to customers in the mid-Atlantic United States. The Company’s services include: wireless voice and data; cable video, Internet and voice; fiber network and services; and local and long distance telephone. Shentel is the exclusive personal communications service (“PCS”) Affiliate of Sprint in portions of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. For more information, please visit www.shentel.com.
