Most employees at Encore Boston Harbor have been out of work since March, and though they are still getting paid, they have a lot of free time on their hands.
Instead of killing that time in an unproductive manner, many of the Encore employees are using their time to connect with senior citizens in Everett. It is just one of many volunteer opportunities that employees are signing up for to help the community while they wait for the resort casino to re-open.
Public Relations Director Rosie Salisbury said many employees have been taking advantage of the time to serve the community, whether at food banks or by working the phones. Personally, she said she has gotten a great deal of satisfaction from checking in regularly on a list of senior citizens provided by the City of Everett.
“One of the great volunteer opportunities that Encore has made available to employees is calling and checking in on a list of more than 6,000 senior residents of Everett,” she said. “I personally find it fulfilling and uplifting to be able to volunteer from the safety of my home and spark a little joy during an otherwise challenging time. When I speak to the residents of Everett, you can hear the happiness that it brings them and how appreciative they are knowing that they have neighbors who care. It’s been really gratifying to connect with them and bring a sense of hope and unity to the most vulnerable members of our community.”
Late last week, Wynn Resorts announced it was expanding its approach to community service at its Everett and Las Vegas locations – both of which are closed due to COVID-19 responses. The company launched its new Virtual Volunteer program last week, a digital platform for employees to give back through national and local online volunteer opportunities. From assisting the visually impaired to mentoring high school students to building websites for small businesses, employees can choose from hundreds of ways to offer their personal and professional skills to help people in need.
“Wynn employees volunteer more than 50,000 hours every year at Company-sponsored events in support of our vital nonprofit partners,” said Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox. “This commitment to service doesn’t stop just because it can’t be done in person. The Virtual Volunteer program is an innovative new way to think about volunteering and keeps our employees close to the causes they care about most.”
Virtual volunteer opportunities are available in dozens of cause areas including crisis relief, mental health, technology, business services, the arts, childhood and continuing education, assisting veterans, and many more. National and local partners in Boston will continue to be added, and currently includ•7Cups
American Corporate Partners
Be My Eyes
Bookshare
Boston Area Rape Crisis Center
Bread of Life
Career Village
Catchafire
Cradles to Crayons
City of Everett
Heart
iCouldBe
LibriVox
Message of Hope
Missing Maps Mapathon
Smithsonian Digital Volunteers
Strive For College
Tech Soup
Translators Without Borders
Nonprofit organizations can request participation in the Virtual Volunteer program by completing the assessment survey on the Wynn Employee Foundation website at wef.wynnresorts.com.
Additionally, the Wynn Employee Foundation, a charitable giving foundation funded and managed by Wynn employees, is providing $50,000 in grants this week to two Boston area domestic violence shelters. The Elizabeth Stone House and Casa Myrna will each receive $25,000 to help support a recent rise in demand for their services that is linked to Covid-19 stay-at-home orders. The donation and volunteer strategies follow an extensive financial protection plan implemented by Maddox that ensures all Wynn employees in North America will continue to receive their full wage, including their average tip, through May 15, 2020.