By Bonnie Adams, Managing Editor
Marlborough – The 70-plus employees at ViaSat, Inc., recently held two different seasonal drives to benefit nonprofit Marlborough organizations.
For the past five years, a group of employees have used the volleyball courts once a week at the nearby Boys and Girls Club of MetroWest (BGCMW).
“We schedule and ViaSat funds court time for folks here who like to play at lunchtime,” according to Christine Peterson, an office assistant with ViaSat, Inc. “Since this is a quiet time at the club while kids are in school, it works so well for both sides – we get a reasonably priced and local, convenient place to play and they get revenues for the club that they would not otherwise receive.”
To thank the club, ViaSat decided to hold a “Healthy Snacks” drive in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. The employees donated non-perishable healthy snacks, such as pretzels, dried fruit and breakfast bars.
“The healthy snacks are being used at the club partly as incentives and rewards for any of the extra efforts kids put in to help at the club,” Peterson said. “We had a whole mountain of healthy snacks that I delivered and helped to unload into their kitchen.”
ViaSat also hosted a “Giving Tree” in December to benefit 33 local children in need, as part of the United Way – Hope for the Holidays campaign. Employees bought items such as jackets, boots, pants, tops, backpacks, bicycle helmets, skate boards, soccer balls, dolls and craft kits for kids in all age groups.
Employees were also asked to submit their receipts for the gifts to the company. In turn, ViaSat then matched the total of those receipts with a monetary donation of just over $3,000 to a local food pantry, the Marlborough Community Cupboard.
ViaSat produces innovative satellite and other digital communication products that enable fast, secure, and efficient communications to any location.
Photos/submitted
