Corning employees and family members recently spent time participating in a community service effort sponsored by Project Mend-A-House, a United Way non-profit serving low-income residents, seniors, veterans, and those with disabilities in local Prince William County.

This community outreach project provided assistance to a senior resident whose home had fallen into disrepair over a number of years due to ongoing health and financial problems. Corning volunteers, along with others in the community, made a difference by cleaning inside the house, repairing and restoring functionality in some areas of the home, and clearing out brush that had overgrown around the property.

"As part of our Corning Cares initiative, community outreach was one of the goals for us this year," said the Manassas plant manager. "We are very happy and proud of the engagement, camaraderie, and caring expressed by our employees. 

The Bedford development team volunteered at the Merrimack Valley Food Bank in Lowell, Massachusetts. The team assembled over 400 bags of food for Operation Nourish, a program providing supplemental food to children who may not have enough to eat at home. Elementary students receive a bag of food to take home twice a month on weekends and over school vacations and holidays.

Corning employees gathered to demonstrate their commitment to Baby’s Home, an organization devoted to helping orphaned or abandoned children with special needs.

A group of Corning employees from the China office put together several charity bazaars themed “Embrace Corning Values and Extend Love to the World,” to raise a significant amount of donations.

The activities promoted the Corning Values and provide a platform for employees to continue their assistance and care for children at Baby’s Home. 

Corning’s former Vice Chairman and CFO Jim Flaws and his wife, Marcia Weber, were honored as co-recipients of the Five Rivers Council, Boy Scouts of America’s Distinguished Citizen Award. The award recognizes individuals and couples for service to the community and for upholding the principles of the Boy Scouts of America.

Weber is the executive director of Southern Tier Central Regional Planning and Development Board and has served many organizations including Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes and the Southeast Steuben County Library.

Flaws worked at Corning for 42 years. During that time, he served organizations including the United Way of the Southern Tier, the Corning Children’s Center, the Corning Museum of Glass, and the Corning Foundation.

“[Community service] helped me fine tune my core values, especially the importance of giving back. This, of course, is one of the values that the Boy Scouts of America instills in its members,” Flaws said.

Corning employees recently participated in The United Way of the Southern Tier's 2016 Day of Action, volunteering their time and skills to help local non-profit and government agencies throughout the community with various service projects.

"It was great to see so many Corning employees and United Way supporters come together around a common goal: improving and giving back to our community," said Gary Calabrese, senior vice president and director of Global Research, and chairman of this year's United Way campaign.

Participating employees helped landscape at Glove House, a not-for-profit children’s agency, Pathways, Inc. Erwin Child & Family Center, and The Arc of Chemung’s Alpine Place a not-for-profit home for individuals with intellectual and development disabilities. 

Major earthquakes hit the southwestern area of Japan starting earlier this year and local Corning employees responded with fundraising to help those affected.

To aid those injured or left homeless in Kumamoto, Corning employees collected donations for the Japanese Red Cross Society, which summarizes the damages to: 67 casualties, 1,659 injuries, 200,000 evacuees, and 85,000 damaged homes.

Supporting the response to this crisis, employees raised money for the Red Cross Society by placing donation boxes around many of the Asian facilities. This donation was boosted with a Corning Incorporated Foundation corporate donation that also helped the Red Cross with recovery efforts.

A race through the streets of Kaiserslautern brought together different companies, the community, and Corning employees in the spirit of fitness, fun, and giving back. More than 60 Corning employees laced up their running shoes last month and got moving for the eighth annual KL Corporate Challenge City Run, joining 8,000 participants from 400 companies.

Although the mood of the race remained upbeat and lighthearted, Corning employees also had some serious reasons to participate. The race linked with Environmental Technology's health and safety initiatives and offered a chance to raise money for disadvantaged sections of the community.