Employee Giveback

2022 Anti-Hunger Games

During the months of April, May, and June, all Visions employees throughout our three-state footprint were challenged to take action against food insecurity and participated in a organization-wide food drive. To go a step further, Visions provided Denim Days donations to charities that provide relief for those suffering from hunger.

United Way Day of Action

Each year in early June, the United Way encourages local volunteers to take action and promote change in communities around the world – known as the Day of Action. Some of our Visions team participated this year by helping to weed, mulch, and beautify the courtyard at Binghamton’s Roberson Museum and Science Center.

Tompkins Learning Partners

Another Denim Days check presentation in the books! Nominated by Visions employee Craig, Tompkins Learning Partners was selected as our April 2022 Denim Days recipient!

Supporting Youth Services

Several organizations were selected as our March 2022 Denim Days recipients. These organizations all provide support and services to youth in the various areas that we serve. Among the recipients were the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (Ithaca, NY), Give a Kid a Dream (Long Branch, NJ), Worth More Nation (Rochester, NY), and The Empowerment Zone (West Orange, NY).

Clear Path for Veterans

Visions Cares volunteers were able to serve free lunches to over 75 veterans and their families at the Binghamton American Legion Post 1645. Lunches were provided by Clear Path for Veterans, a service organization that offers programming and resources to active service members, veterans, and their families.

Greater Ithaca Activities Center

Our March 2022 Denim Days contributions went to The Greater Ithaca Activities Center. GIAC is a center for all ages, particularly youth and teens, serving the immediate neighborhood and the greater Ithaca area by providing multicultural, educational, and recreational programs focused on social and individual development.

Visions Human Resources Team at VINES

To give back to the community and take advantage of our Volunteer Time Off employee perk, members of our Human Resources team volunteered at VINES in Downtown Binghamton. We mainly worked in one of the VINES greenhouses pulling weeds and preparing soil for planting. We also planted new crops in starter containers that will be transferred to a greenhouse when ready. Great work team, and thanks for helping a local organization!

American Heart Association

As part of our employee-driven Denim Days donation for the month of February 2022, we presented a check to the American Heart Association of Binghamton, NY.

Emergency Services

Have you ever wondered why Visions employees wear jeans on Fridays? We have the option to donate $5 or more every paycheck in exchange for this opportunity. Our donations go right back to non-profits in the communities we serve. In January 2022, the Denim Days donation went to various emergency service organizations within our three-state footprint.

CHOW

Our Community Development department came together in Broome County to help our neighbors at the CHOW Warehouse sort, weigh, and pack food donations from CHOW’s Food-a-Bago donation collection in November 2021.

Willow Domestic Violence Center

Willow Domestic Violence Center in Rochester, NY was our Denim Days recipient for October 2021, which also happens to be Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Willow Domestic Violence Center has been providing free and confidential services to victims of domestic violence, without judgement, to individuals in Monroe County for over 40 years.

Broome County Festival of Lights

To spread a little holiday cheer, some of our employees and their families volunteered to string up lights for the Broome County Festival of Lights in Otsiningo Park. The drive-through event features beautiful light displays, fireworks, and hot air balloon glows available to the public on winter evenings.

American Cancer Society

Each year, Visions is a major sponsor of the “Making Strides Against Breast Cancer” campaign across all three of our regions. Team Visions laced up their sneakers in Broome, Bergen, and Lehigh counties to walk along with hundreds of other participants supporting the fight against breast cancer. Thank you to all our employees that helped contribute to our annual campaign!

Chenango United Way

Visions employees are given the opportunity to enjoy wearing jeans on Fridays by donating $5 or more every paycheck. These donations go right back into the communities we serve and support hand-picked nonprofits each month. Through Denim Days, Visions supported the Chenango United Way in Norwich, NY for the month of June 2021. Chenango United Way builds partnerships and maximizes resources to enhance the quality of life for local residents and improve their income, education, and health.

United Way Day of Action

Every year in June, thousands of people across the globe take action to improve their communities by volunteering with the United Way. These opportunities seek civic-minded volunteers, volunteer groups, and families looking to share their time and talents to help local organizations for the annual Day of Action. Visions employees took part on June 18th by volunteering at the Discovery Center in Binghamton, NY and assisted with painting a new attraction for their popular Story Garden.

Visions FCU Anti-Hunger Games

During the months of April, May, and June 2021, Visions held an Anti-Hunger Games campaign, which encouraged all employees to participate in activities and acts of service that would help alleviate food insecurity in the communities we serve.

Career Development Council

Selected for a Denim Days donation, Visions supported the Career Development Council in Elmira, NY for the month of April 2021. This not-for-profit is affiliated with the Greater Southern Tier BOCES that partners with business, industry, and area school districts to provide high quality K-12 career education services to over 28,000 students and educators each year.

“I Heart My Match” NAFCU/PAC

Every year, Visions employees contribute to the NAFCU/PAC “I Heart My Match” program, which matches contributions for every dollar up to $170,000. Visions selects local Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals to receive the matched donated funds. In 2020, over $16,000 in PAC donations were raised, matched, and donated to Upstate Golisano Children’s Hospital, NY and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, PA.

Holiday Giving

We gave back in a new way during the 2020 holiday season! Visions employees participated in a Season of Giving, where we partnered with several organizations across our 3-state footprint for a unique giveback experience! Some of the nonprofits were even founded by employees! The Season of Giving partners included the American Red Cross, The Empowerment Zone, United Way, American Heart Association, NAFCU/PAC, Toys for Tots, and more!

2020 Day of Caring

Visions is committed to engaging and promoting volunteerism in all the communities we serve. On the annual Day of Caring 2020, some of our employees joined the volunteer efforts of the United Way in the beautiful outdoor garden of VINES – Volunteers Improving Neighborhood Environments, at the Tudor Street location in downtown Binghamton, NY. Volunteers graciously helped with weeding, mulching, and harvesting vegetables.

COVID-19 Lunch Donations

We are eternally grateful to the individuals that kept our communities healthy and safe during COVID-19. To show our support to health care workers and police departments throughout the counties that we serve in New Jersey, our Business Development team purchased meals as a way of saying thank you. Some of the organizations that received meals were St. Joseph’s Hospital and St. Mary’s General Hospital in Passaic, NJ; Brightview Senior Living Facility in Tenafly, NJ; and the police departments of Hackettstown, Mt. Olive, and Newton, NJ.

Broome County Humane Society

In an effort to give back to the community, our Consumer Lending department collected much needed donations for the Broome County Humane Society in New York. Mortgage Sales Manager, Brent Baker, volunteered to receive a pie in the face as a special “reward” for full team participation.

Corporate Giveback Challenge

Visions initiated a Corporate Giveback Challenge to collect food donations for local food banks to restock their supplies and help those in need. Collectively, employees donated a total of 6,940 items for food banks and charitable organizations across NY, NJ, and PA. As a result of 100% employee participation, Visions donated an additional $3,000 to the elected food banks.

Kindness Café

In partnership with our talented American Food and Vending chefs, Kindness Café is a community project designed to show appreciation amidst the COVID-19 pandemic to our local health care professionals by donating hot, freshly made meals. For every $5 contribution, 1 take-out meal would be donated. Visions employees raised $1,240 and donated 248 meals to medical professionals at UHS Hospital in Binghamton, NY.

Atlantic Health System’s Newton Medical Center

Visions employees Mary and Gloria paid it forward and shared their meals and goodie bags from a recent Newton Medical Center Foundation fundraiser with the Emergency Room Nurses at Atlantic Health System’s Newton Medical Center in New Jersey.

Friends Forever Animal Rescue

Our Syracuse and Cicero, NY offices saved their bottles and cans accrued during their time in quarantine to benefit Friends Forever Animal Rescue. After reopening in June, the collection amounted to 1,000 bottles and cans, equaling a $50 donation to the organization. The collection also included a personal donation from a generous Cicero local who overheard what our offices were doing and donated two bags of her own bottles and cans.

Shopping Cart Challenge

Our NY Contact Center employees stepped up to fight hunger in our communities with the ‘Food A Bag-o’ challenge in Binghamton, NY to benefit Broome County CHOW.

Food Collection Drive

Our Central Lending department initiated a food drive this past holiday season, collecting one type of food donation for each day of December. All items were donated to St. Anthony’s Food Pantry in Endicott, NY.

United Way of Tompkins County, Day of Action

Visions joined the volunteer efforts of the United Way of Tompkins County and the Center for Suicide Prevention and Crisis Service in Ithaca, NY, for Day of Action. Day of Action is an invitation for people and organizations around the world to put the United Way’s mission into action by volunteering to improve the building blocks for a good quality of life – education, financial stability, and health.

Association for Vision Rehabilitation and Employment

Visions employees raised $1,380 through our Denim Days program to the Association for Vision Rehabilitation and Employment (AVRE), a non-profit organization in Binghamton, NY that serves people who are blind or visually impaired.

Food Bank of the Southern Tier

Food insecurity impacts individuals throughout the communities we serve, and it’s a cause that our employees are passionate about. Through their donations alone, we raise over $3,000 to benefit the Food Bank of the Southern Tier every year.

ACHIEVE Bowling Tournament

Many of the events we sponsor come with tickets and additional benefits. As the title sponsor of Achieve’s “Pin Crushing” bowling tournament in Vestal, NY, our staff got to bowl for a fantastic cause – and meet Rowdy the Rumble Pony!

Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services

Our employees got to use some of their allotted “Volunteer Time Off” and help beautify the Ithaca, NY community, in partnership with INHS (Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services) during the annual Giving is Gorges day.

The American Heart Association

The American Heart Association is near and dear to our hearts. Our team in NJ is always pumped to participate in their annual “Heart Walk”.