Last week, United Way Suncoast recognized several local individuals who have made significant contributions to the organization, inducting these individuals into a United Way Roundtable that has just 500 members worldwide. We are incredibly proud that PAR founders Bob and Cathy Smith were two of the honorees.

The Smiths began their relationship with the United Way in 1977 and became members of the Tocqueville Society in 1998. Bob and Cathy’s spirit of generosity and philanthropy has not stopped with their personal devotion to the United Way, though. They have encouraged PAR staff to actively participate in United Way activities in the area, donating both time and resources. In fact, PAR has had 100% employee participation in our annual United Way drive for more than 20 years! Other honorees at last week’s celebration represented organizations such as Raymond James, Publix, Ferman Automotive, and the Siemer Institute. To be among the company of these other organizations is simply inspiring.

Congratulations, Bob and Cathy! This is an amazing testament to your dedication to United Way for more than 40 years!

Watch the video that was shown at the ceremony.

PAR has announced the recipient of its fifth-annual program to benefit worthy charities. “PAR has been incredibly fortunate as a company,” stated Kristin Greco, MBA, Chief Executive Officer. “Rather than sending our Customers an end-of-year gift, a few years ago, we decided to make a charitable contribution on behalf of our Customers to an organization chosen by those we serve. This is the fourth year we have done so, each year selecting a new charity to honor.”

In November, PAR mailed an end-of-year communication to select Customers, thanking them for their business and asking them to choose their favorite organization from a list as a way to acknowledge the important work they do throughout the year. Most PAR Customers are involved in psychological assessment, educational assessment, or mental health work.

Now that results have been tallied, PAR is proud to announce that on behalf of its Customers, a $5,000 donation will be made to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. “We are so inspired by the work our Customers do, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America is doing work that is important to them,” said Greco. “It is an honor to be able to pay it forward to such a worthy organization.”

 

PAR has a long and proud tradition of giving back to the communities we serve through donations of time and financial support. This is something we do not only during the holiday season, but all year long.

Here’s a look back at some of the events and organizations our company and employees supported in 2018.

January: Announced the recipient of our fourth annual Pay-it-Forward campaign, where select Customers choose an organization to receive a $5,000 donation. The charity selected by our Customers was Prevent Child Abuse America.

February: PAR employees participated in the annual Cup of Compassion breakfast, a fund-raising event that benefits the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay.

March: PAR employees volunteered for Camp Circle of Love, a no-cost annual weekend retreat for children in Hillsborough county ages 6 to 18 years who have experienced the death of a loved one. 

For the 7th year in a row, the PAR team was named Top Dog at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay’s annual Bark in the Park fundraising event. 

April: PAR staff participated in and donated to fundraising walks supporting Southeastern Guide Dogs and Autism Speaks. In addition, several PAR employees spent their lunch hour volunteering at Trinity Café, a restaurant in Tampa that serves free hot lunches to those in need.

June: PAR employees and their families took to the lanes to raise money and awareness for the American Heart Association during our annual Bowling for Hearts event. 

August: Another group of PAR employees volunteered to serve lunch at Trinity Café, providing over 200 free hot lunches to those in need.

September: PAR’s annual United Way Week took place and for the 21st consecutive year, 100% of PAR staff contributed. Employees raised over $93,000 to benefit United Way Suncoast and their partner agencies. With PAR’s matching contribution, a total of just under $140,000 will help make a difference in the lives of so many.

October: A group of PAR staffers attended Tuxes & Tails, the premier annual fundraiser for the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. Other employees participated in United Way Suncoast’s Day of Caring by volunteering to clean and organize warehouse space for Metropolitan Ministries, an agency that cares for the homeless and those at risk.

November: PAR had employees take part in two different fundraising events: the Walk to End Alzheimer’s and the to Stop Soldier Suicide Veteran’s Day 5K. Also, PAR staff met with students from the Hillsborough County PACE Center for Girls to announce winners of PAR’s annual Holiday Card Contest, in which an original design drawn by one of the girls is used on PAR’s annual holiday cards.

December: PAR held its annual Angel Trees event. Trees are placed in our lobby and we coordinate with local charities to decorate the trees with ornaments listing gifts for local children in need. PAR staff members then choose ornaments and donate gifts to the children. This year we worked with the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, Redland’s Christian Migrant Association, and Heart Gallery of Tampa to provide help to nearly 150 children.

Each year, PAR employees take part in a week-long United Way fundraising campaign. For more than 20 years, 100% of PAR staff members have contributed during our annual drive. This year was no different! We exceeded our fundraising goal, resulting in more than $93,000 in employee contributions to help United Way Suncoast and their partner agencies! With PAR’s matching contribution, we are proud to say United Way will receive just under $140,000 that will help make a difference in the lives of so many people in the Tampa Bay area.

Learn more about how you can help United Way in your community!

Here are a few photos of our week!

Kick-off breakfast: We split into teams to represent four Tampa Bay teams: the Buccaneers, the Rowdies, the Rays, and the Lightning! Some local mascots joined the fun!

 

Teams faced off in a seriously competitive Pictionary contest!

Last week, we welcomed Suzanne McCormick from United Way Suncoast to our office. She came to award PAR as #22 on the list of Most Generous Workplaces. We are so thrilled to be in the company of the other organizations represented on this list, all of which foster a culture of caring and philanthropy among their employees. Further, we are so proud of our employees for their generous support of United Way.

Learn more about how you can get involved with United Way where you live.

PAR has announced the recipient of its fourth-annual program to benefit worthy charities. “PAR has been incredibly fortunate as a company,” stated Kristin Greco, MBA, Chief Executive Officer. “Rather than sending our Customers an end-of-year gift, a few years ago, we decided to make a charitable contribution on behalf of our Customers to an organization chosen by those we serve. This is the fourth year we have done so, each year selecting a new charity to honor.”

In November, PAR mailed an end-of-year communication to select Customers, thanking them for their business and asking them to choose their favorite organization from a list as a way to acknowledge the important work they do throughout the year. Most PAR Customers are involved in psychological assessment, educational assessment, or mental health work.

Now that results have been tallied, PAR is proud to announce that on behalf of its Customers, a $5,000 donation will be made to Prevent Child Abuse America.

“We are so inspired by the work our Customers do, and Prevent Child Abuse America is doing work that is important to them,” said Greco. “It is an honor to be able to pay it forward to such a worthy organization.”

This month has been filled with so many events that help PAR live up to our tagline, “Creating Connections. Changing Lives.”

We have been involved in several Community PARtners events. Read on to learn about some of the ways PAR staff have been involved in helping others lately!

United Way Day of Caring

Earlier this month, several employees spent the day at Hillsborough Aging Services playing games, calling bingo, and serving lunch to a special group of local senior citizens in our community. Through United Way Suncoast, more than 1,900 volunteers took part in 101 projects in the local area on one day. To learn more about how you can get involved in your community, visit United Way.

No-Pucker Challenge

A group of PAR staffers participated in the No-Pucker Challenge to raise awareness for Niemann-Pick Type C (NPC). NPC is a rare, fatal childhood disease known as “Childhood Alzheimer’s.” PAR staff member Katie Meyer-Griffith’s husband Sean will be riding across Florida to raise awareness for Hope for Marian, the organization behind the No-Pucker Challenge. Learn more about Marian, a two-year-old girl fighting for her life against NPC and about Sean’s ride. Visit our Facebook page to watch us as we take on the No-Pucker Challenge!

Relief for Puerto Rico

PAR employees gathered boxes of much-needed supplies to send through the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration to help those devastated by Hurricane Maria. Whether it was batteries, garbage bags, diapers, or first aid supplies, staff stepped up and donated what we could to help the effort in Puerto Rico.

Additionally, we collected socks for children in need during our annual Socktoberfest drive, participated in our regular Meals on Wheels route, and so much more! 

PAR is proud of our ongoing relationship with United Way.

Earlier this month, PAR staff took part in our annual fundraising campaign. For more than 20 years, 100% of staff members have contributed during our annual United Way drive. This year was no different. We exceeded our fundraising goal, resulting in employee contributions of $90,402.74 being donated to United Way to help continue its mission of helping others in our community. With match and challenge donations, that brings our 2017 United Way campaign total to $136,604.11!

Learn more about how you can help United Way in your community! Visit www.unitedway.org.

PAR is proud of our ongoing relationship with United Way. In September, we took part in our annual fundraising campaign. For more than 20 years, 100% of staff members have contributed during our annual United Way drive. This year was no different. We exceeded our fundraising goal, resulting in employee contributions of $88,063.84 being donated to United Way to help continue its mission of helping others in our community. With match and challenge donations, that brings our 2016 United Way campaign total to $133,069.76! Amazing!

This year, our United Way week theme was PAR Olympics. Staffers were broken into five teams that took part in a host of competitions, ranging from artistic gymnastics to a javelin toss to indoor rowing. Some furry athletes from the Humane Society of Tampa Bay even stopped by.

Want to learn more about how you can help United Way in your community? Visit www.unitedway.org.

PAR is happy to announce the recipient of our second-annual “Pay It Forward” program to benefit worthy charities.

“PAR has been incredibly fortunate as a company,” stated R. Bob Smith III, PhD, Chairman and CEO. “Rather than sending our Customers an end-of-year gift, last year, we decided to do something new—we made a charitable contribution on behalf of our Customers to organizations chosen by those we serve. We decided to make it an annual tradition, and continued the program this fall, selecting new charities.”

In November, PAR mailed an end-of-year communication to select Customers, thanking them for their business and asking them to choose their favorite organization from a list as a way to acknowledge the important work they do throughout the year. Now that results have been tallied, PAR is proud to announce that on behalf of our Customers, a $5,000 donation will be made to Feeding America.

“We are so inspired by the work our Customers do, and Feeding America inspires them,” said Smith. “It is an honor to be able to pay it forward.”