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Thursday, April 4, 2019

2019 Day of Smiles: Hero Smiles

Giving back to our community is in our DNA. On April 2nd, we held our 4th Annual Day of Smiles, an event that gathered over 150 of our team members to volunteer at 11 different community service projects around Pittsburgh.

As a company, we invest at least 5% of our pre-tax earnings to support nonprofit organizations – and though we support a wide variety of causes, we focus our efforts on three areas:  Sharing Smiles, Growing Smiles, and Hero Smiles. Click here to read more about each.

On Day of Smiles, four of our service projects were focused on “Hero Smiles” with the goal of enhancing the lives of military veterans and their families. Read on to learn more about these volunteer projects!

Fisher House
One of our teams made the trip to the Fisher House, located in Oakland, to prepare a tasty lunch for guests and their families. Since 2012, the Fisher House has been providing a "home away from home" for the families of Veterans and active duty military who are hospitalized. The home, with its 10 suites, allows families to be near their loved one while enjoying a place of peace and respite for themselves. Families stay for free, lifting their financial burden and allowing them to focus on their patient.
Veterans Leadership Program
A few of our volunteers teamed up with Veterans Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania for some painting projects around the office to make it extra inviting for the Veterans being provided with services there. VLP provides many services to eligible local veterans, service members, and their families including housing, employment, and other vital support services with the goal of improving their self-sufficiency, sustainability, and quality of life.
VA Hospital
This crew of volunteers assembled care package kits, which were then distributed to well-deserving veterans receiving medical care at the VA Hospital in Oakland. Some veterans stay at the hospital for extended periods of time, so the kits were full of supplies that they may not have had the opportunity to pick up for themselves.
Shepherd's Heart Fellowship & Veterans Home
Our last group of volunteers were hard at work completing various tasks at Shepherd's Heart. They restocked and organized the pantry, and did some landscaping. Shepherd's Heart provides transitional housing for Veterans, as well as meals and a place to shower and do laundry for the homeless.

Check out our other blogs in this series to learn about our community projects for Growing Smiles and Sharing Smiles.

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