InSPIRE’d to give, mentor program participants provide “blessings” for the homeless

Photo By JOHN DWYER | Mentors and mentees join together to make sandwiches as part of "blessing bags" for the homeless in Philadelphia on May 17. The project is a community service opportunity within the Industrial Hardware's InSPIRE mentoring program.  

PHILADELPHIA, PA, UNITED STATES

05.21.2018

Story by JOHN DWYER 

Defense Logistics Agency   

Twenty participants in the Industrial Hardware Success and Partnership in Reaching Excellence mentoring program assembled 150 lunch bags for the homeless on May 17 at the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support.

The community outreach and team building event featured program participants making sandwiches, assembling lunch bags, also known as “blessing bags,” and providing uplifting messages for the homeless.

When Anello and Chuck Zerambo, IH purchasing agent and InSPIRE co-lead, teamed up to create the program for their IH teammates, Anello wanted to make the program unique and provide an opportunity for participants to connect with each other and the community.

“My goal was to make it unique from other mentoring programs, which is where the team building and community service projects come into play,” Joanne Anello, Industrial Hardware traditional acquisition division chief and InSPIRE co-lead, said. “This project is just a small way we can give back and hopefully brighten someone’s day.”

One IH employee, authoring more than half of the uplifting messages, was glad to have been a part of the event.

“It’s a really fun and interesting way to come together,” said Alexa Janco. “It was a teambuilding event, but I also got to network with other mentors and mentees and help the community.”

InSPIRE is an ongoing mentoring program open to all DLA Troop Support employees. Employees interested in participating can contact Joanne Anello or Charles “Chuck” Zerambo for information.

• Date Taken: 05.21.2018
• Date Posted: 05.21.2018 10:49
• Story ID: 277730
• Location: PHILADELPHIA, PA, US