Blog Updates

Nina Litvinchuk and Jaime Farrar, from Corporate Visions’ Pleasanton Office, had a good time helping clean up the coast in Alameda for the September 20th Coastal Cleanup day. They showed up at 8:30 a.m. along with about 50 other people with buckets, garbage bags, and gloves, to sweep the coast for trash – looking for anything that did not naturally belong i.e. cigarette butts, bottles, and glass were among the popular things found.

On their way out, they were interviewed by a local reporter for a write up on the event. Nina, originally from Alameda, was quoted in the link below to the Contra Costa Times (and also in the San Jose Mercury Times) as saying:

“Dublin resident Nina Litvinchuk, 29, came to Alameda early Saturday morning with her co-worker Jaime Farrar, who came from Lafayette.”
“I’m originally from Alameda, so it’s great to see all these people out here,” said Litvinchuk, “It’s awesome.”

http://www.contracostatimes.com/news/ci_26574202/plastic-grocery-bags-harder-find-coastal-cleanup-day

[by Jaime Farrar]

On Wednesday, September 17th Diane Frate, Lisa Slen and Sabina Walters were invited by Person2Person to attend a barbecue to honor all of their volunteers.

The community room was festively decorated – the food was delicious. We enjoyed our time with P2P staff and volunteers.

This was a wonderful event for P2P to show appreciation to their volunteers. [by Diane Frate]

On July 16, 2014, Roxanna Yuen from the Hong Kong Office, joined an activity organized by Fu Hong Society. This is a non-profit organization serving people with intellectual disabilities, psychiatric disabilities, and those with autism.

Nine intellectual disabilities (students) with two instructors and three volunteers went to The Peak, the most popular attraction of Hong Kong which offers a spectacular view of the city and its harbors. The students experienced the famous funicular railways to go up to The Peak. They were excited when passing the buildings which made them look like they were leaning at a slant.

Roxanna took care of two students who enjoyed taking photos. They were good in following instructions and enjoyed the sites of Hong Kong. Although they did not understand much, Roxanna did her best let them what those buildings are.

The highlight of the trip was the lunch at McDonalds. They ate very quickly and loved the food very much. One of the students liked ketchup. The instructor told me not to give too much sauce, however, the students kept on asking for more.

The activity was meaningful because these students need to be exposed to the larger community. I received great value from the experience and enjoyed with talk them. [by Roxanna Yuen]

[Photo back row left to right: Fabiana, Meghan, Lynn, Stacy; front row: Preston & Alan]

“Hiking for Hooters” Corporate Visions’ team came out on top! They are one of the top five teams [out of 31 teams] that exceeded their fundraising goal for Zero Breast Cancer’s 12th annual Hike/Run event.

Starting at 8 am, Saturday, September 13th, from Old Mill Park, Mill Valley, the 5 CVI hikers [Alan Segal, Fabiana LaBauve, Lynn and Stacy Zambrano and Meghan Peddicord] led by Team Captain Preston Kawaguchi ran or hiked the 6.1 mile trail which included 670 steps both ways!
[See below photo of Captain Preston pointing to CVI logo on display banner]

Here is a photo of most of the team on the top of the mountain in this picturesque view from the trail:

Here are comments from few of the team members:

“The ZBC Dipsea Hike was a blast! The trail is challenging, but absolutely breathtaking! The speaker, Dr. Yvonne Cagle, doctor, astronaut, researcher and runner, was very motivating and a true inspiration! The food, was probably the best food I have ever had at any race, hike etc. and I have done a lot of them. Very good prizes, the event really was a total success!” ~ Lynn Zambrano 

“I love being a part of fundraising events where I can raise money for a cause that I believe in (and participating in fun events with my co-workers is always a bonus!) But through this activity that Charlotte brought to our office, I learned about ZBC, which is community based organization, dedicated to prevention and finding the causes of breast cancer specifically focusing on identifying environmental factors and the role they play.

Marin County has one of the highest breast cancer incidence rates in the world, which is something I was not aware of. I’m glad to know that ZBC is out there looking for the cause and trying to find ways of prevention. I’m honored to donate my money and my time to such an organization, and thankful to Charlotte to introducing me to them.” ~ Fabiana LaBauve

“This was a great way to connect with coworkers and for such a wonderful cause! We all had a blast talking, laughing and taking pictures of the beautiful trail along the way.” ~Meghan Peddicord

Here is the team with their prizes in the glory of being one of the top five teams!

“My heartfelt thank you to our TEAM, co-workers, friends, and family of our hikers and runners who willingly supported the CVI Team –Hiking for Hooters. It is through our collaborative, unified efforts that this team became one of the top 5 fundraisers in a very short time. We strive to be the best in whatever we do, within the company and in our communities.” ~Charlotte Kobayashi

Our VP of Technology, Dustin Ring and his girlfriend, Erin Alpers, volunteered for the Northern Nevada Children’s Cancer Foundation (NNCCF) making just under one thousand cups of freshly squeezed lemonade! The Best in the West Nugget Rib Cook-off takes place every year in Sparks, Nevada. The event only allows a select few charities to participate; we were glad to be chosen.

NNCCF’s mission is to provide help, give hope, and promote courage for families affected with this terrible disease. They create awareness community-wide, throughout the year, to promote advocacy and cancer research funding. [By Dustin Ring]

Donate to NNCCF by clicking here.

About a month ago [July,2014], Eduardo Conrado, CMO at Motorola, reached out to share that the Red Cross needed our help. He knew that the Red Cross has a great charter and that the work they do it truly priceless but he also knew that they could use some help sharing their mission / stories with the world.

Eduardo is on the Board of Directors with the Red Cross; he said he knew right away that they needed Corporate Visions to guide them in the right direction. Ted Ergo reached out to Tim Riesterer and without hesitation Tim said, “Let’s do this!” So last Friday, Tim and Ted spent half a day with the leadership team at their executive retreat in Chicago.

Needless to say, Tim’s delivery was spectacular and the 20 plus executives embraced the challenge with true passion and determination. Five teams focused on 5 visual stories about the challenges that we face as a society and what the Red Cross does for all of us every day. This was very powerful and eye opening. Here just one example:

Most people can name 3-5 disasters that have happen worldwide and have made a donation when that happens. But did you know that…….

The Red Cross responds to 70,000 disasters in the USA every year.
Northern Illinois has 1200 disasters a year, that’s 3.3 a day!
97% are residential fires; these are family and personal disasters.
50% of the victims are children.

So when you hear the sirens of a Fire truck heading out to a fire, think about the Red Cross volunteer that is right behind them. Let’s donate to support our communities.

When CVI delivers to our corporate principles, Employees, Community, and Clients, we can change the world. Ted [the employee] has entered into 4 new conversations with the leaders from Allstate Insurance Company, Colliers International, NES Rentals and McDonalds Corporation. The Red Cross (the community) has started to develop great story conversations and Eduardo (the Client) was very grateful as we [CVI] helped support his cause pro bono.

“I am proud of the work we do and the company I represent. Here are a few pictures of the event.”

[By Ted Ergo]

The Dipsea steps, all 670 of them, sequestered in the woody neighborhood of Mill Valley, is the trail used for this 12th annual Dipsea Hike for Zero Breast Cancer. This event was created in honor of Annie Fox, a vivacious 35 year old gal, who gave it her all to battle breast cancer. This trail was her favorite and she was determined to complete the hike throughout her treatments up to final days of her life.

Since her passing 12 years ago, over 500 hikers and runners from all around the Bay Area and some from out-of-state, come to join in this annual event to help raise funds for research and awareness of the factors increase the chances of women having breast cancer. It is through collaborative efforts of medical and research professionals, volunteers and community participation, that allows Zero Breast Cancer to continue their search of the variables that point to the higher numbers of breast cancer in Marin.

Charlotte Kobayashi, from Corporate Visions’ Larkspur Office, [on August 9, 2014] is shown in photo posting flyers at strategic points along the trail to invite hikers/runners to sign up for this event which is on September 13th, with check-in starting at 8 am in Old Mill Park and returning back to Old Mill Park for a fabulous post-hike celebration. Hikers and runners will be provided free mini massages, treats from Whole Foods, Nothing Bundt Cakes, and Three Twins ice cream along with wonderful entertainment from the Ukulele Friends Ohana [family].

In 2013, this event raised $60,000. This year’s goal is to raise $100,000.

For more information on this event on how to become a sponsor, donate or, take part in the hike/run go to: www.dipsea.zerobreast cancer.org.

On Monday, August 4th, 2014 Diane Frate and Lisa Slen from the Darien, Connecticut office spent the morning sealing and stamping over 600 invitations for the American Cancer Society “Roast” Fundraiser.
Each year a well-known local business individual is nominated for the “Roast”. The proceeds for this event and live auction, “Hands Up For Hope”, will benefit the American Cancer Society Research Program. [By Diane Frate]

On June 25th, Helen Atkinson from our UK office spent a day volunteering for BBONT (her local Nature Trust). The trust is dedicated to protecting wildlife and maintaining local landscapes across three UK counties. They also inspire local children to discover the joys of the natural world. One of BBONT’s protected nature reserves is just 2 miles from Helen’s house. It contains a number of different wildlife habitats, including woodland, wildflower meadows and the increasingly reduced fen habitat. It’s also an important refuge for migrating birds flying to/from Africa.

Helen spent the morning clearing land of ragwort plants which is poisonous to a number of animals. It was hard work, but afterwards the volunteering team were given access to a private area of fen where stunning wild orchids are being protected.

After a lunch sat in the sunshine (a rare occasion for the UK!), Helen was asked to assist with a butterfly survey. The survey is important to the trust for monitoring the number and diversity of butterflies in the area, a species which is unfortunately in constant decline due to the loss of their natural environment.

It was a tiring but rewarding day, and good to see so many visitors enjoying their time at the reserve.
[By Helen Atkinson]