Avenu Actively Serving Communities

AVENU makes it a priority to enhance the vitality of the communities where its employees live and work as well as assisting organizations that provide programs and opportunities throughout the country. We do this by offering a “Volunteer Day” to full-time employees, contributing to various charitable organizations, local efforts by offices, and individual efforts.

Avenu’s Volunteer Day:  To encourage volunteerism and community support, Avenu offers a “Volunteer Day” benefit. Each full-time employee with greater than six months of service has a paid eight hour “Volunteer Day” time allocation for a Qualified Volunteer Event for a non-profit 501 C3 organization.

Example of Charitable Donations: The COVID-19 pandemic created a situation where food banks received fewer donations and had less volunteers. In 2020, Avenu donated to the below organizations to help with food insecurity.

• Blessings In A Backpack (Virginia)
• Feeding Texas
• Feeding America (donations for California, Alabama, Florida)
• Children’s Hunger Alliance (Ohio)
• Three Squares New England

Additionally, Avenu reached out to its customers to ask if there are any organizations in their area that is working to resolve food insecurity and seeking donations.

Individual Efforts: Avenu is fortunate to have leadership and a team of employees who volunteer their time and talents in big ways to their local communities. Some recent highlights include:

• Sharon Matthews, Vice Chairwoman, has passionately volunteered to City Year for the last 15 years. City Year is an AmeriCorps program that identifies at risk kids at a young age and assigns them recent college graduate-mentors to work with them on their grades and keep them accountable for their behaviors.
• Paul Colangelo, CEO, provides a great deal of his time and energy to Blessings In A Backpack which mobilizes communities, individuals, and resources to provide food on the weekends for elementary school children across America who might otherwise go hungry. this organization by serving on the Board of Directors. As a father of five, Paul does not want to see any child go hungry.
• Kennon Walthall, Senior VP, led a group of 66 companies and community organizations called the Pacesetter Campaign, which raised over $13.5M for the United Way of Central Alabama. Financial contributions help the United Way provide a quality education, a healthier community, and access to services in times of crisis.

Local Efforts: Avenu has 16 offices throughout the US, Canada and India. Many of our offices hold drives to help support charities in their areas.

Do you have a story to share about how you, your office or a colleague has given back to the community? Email AVENEWS@avenuinsights.com.