ADD Systems Director of Human Resources, Allyson Wright, and Amy Katsigiannis, BTC and Special Projects Coordinator, join us to discuss the ADD Cares initiative, the fundraising efforts that it includes, and outlining the 2023 Pajama Program plans.
You can subscribe to the ADDcast at any of the following locations, or read the transcript below.
Apple Podcasts / iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/add-systems-addcast/id1604865113
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1atj72i5AnIwTJDBFD9DzX
Amazon / Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/df7c9f4a-8a3f-431f-8787-50eee85b2bcd
Castbox: https://castbox.fm/channel/id4744519?country=us
You can also search “ADD Systems” wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts!
Brian Cohen: Welcome to ADDcast. I’m ADD Systems Multimedia Specialist, Brian Cohen. Joining me today are ADD Systems Director of Human Resources, Allyson Wright, and Amy Katsigiannis, BTC and Special Projects Coordinator. Thank you both for joining me today.
Amy Katsigiannis: Thanks, Brian.
Ally Wright: Thanks, Brian, for having us.
Brian: Well, Ally, let’s start with you. Can you begin by telling us a little bit about how the ADD Cares initiative began and what its purpose is?
Ally: Sure. So we just pretty much formalized a situation that was going on for years. We have charitable employees and everybody is looking to help out, especially at the holidays. So we just went ahead and capitalized on that and gave it a name so that we could work together as a group and continue to give to those important charities.
Brian: Well, Amy, can you share some of the fundraising efforts that ADD Systems has promoted in the past?
Amy: We have been involved with Smile Train, the Pajama Program, Sun Youth, Kids for Kurling, local pantries, and countless other charities that our employees are passionate about.
Brian: So let’s talk about the current holiday activities. Ally, can you tell us a bit about the Pajama Program and the history of ADD’s involvement with the organization?
Ally: Sure. So the history of the Pajama Program with ADD Systems goes back to the early 2000s under the tutelage of our Vice President of Special Projects, Cathie Tourtellot. They brought the charity to ADD Systems and gave a great explanation for what it was going to help. And it was near and dear to everybody’s heart. Kids are important, especially at the holidays. And what it allows for is to service many different shelters of all different kinds. So that when children get there, what must be a scary experience, they get there and they’re greeted with a warm pair of pajamas and a book to read and to feel a little bit more like home. So we started doing that and we collected it and we’ve thought of different things throughout the years to try to increase the amount of pajamas that we can donate.
Brian: Now, Ally, children have been a regular focus of ADD and the founders since the company’s early days. Can you talk about how that focus has evolved over the last five decades?
Ally: Sure. So Bruce and Gail clearly were people who liked children. They didn’t feel that children should be seen and not heard. They thought children should be heard and out in front. They, from bringing Amy and me to the office and presenting us in meetings in a crib next to the table, they felt that that was important. And so, I think giving back to all the children in the area was important for them. And so, we continued that. Their children feel the same way about kids. It just feels like the right thing to keep giving back to children.
Brian Cohen: Now, Amy, ADDs has some other locations that focus on some similar children-focused programs. Can you tell us a little bit about those?
Amy: Yeah, Brian. Aside from the Pajama Program, we also focus on Kurling for Kids, which Stanley Fong is a director for this charity that raises funds for children’s hospitals in Montreal. The funds are used to purchase much-needed medical equipment. The other one is Sun Youth Organization, and that is a non-profit organization that distributes food baskets and toys to underprivileged families in Montreal.
Brian Cohen: Ally, can you share a little bit of information about the plans for this year’s Pajama Program?
Ally: Sure, Brian. So every winter, or every holiday season, we go ahead and we start a raffle in the company, and we ask our employees and their family members to purchase tickets for our raffle, where we have items that are being raffled off from the board of directors, the president, the owner, and also the chief operating officer. And so, we have some really nice prizes and we, at the end of December or mid-December, we actually go ahead and draw those and we make a significant amount of money. Then Amy and I take that money and ADD Systems matches it. And then we go ahead and we bog down Amazon for a while and order all the pajamas to show up at our house and then we have them all collected. We also ask everybody who comes to our holiday party to bring a set of pajamas as their entrance fee so that we can collect there. Which is so nice because last year where we had our holiday party, the Westin Governor Morris, actually made their own donation to us to include in our own, which was great. And also, we allow employees any time during the holiday season, if they want to just order a pair of pajamas, they can order them and they can send them directly to my house or to the office. And we continue to make that collection throughout the season. And then somewhere in the later winter, we meet up with the Pajama Program and make our delivery of all the pajamas that are needed.
Brian: So, Ally, for people that want to contribute, how can they go about doing that?
Ally: So anybody could reach out to me through hr@addsys.com. They can also reach out to me personally through LinkedIn and also to my email address, which is wrighta@addsys.com. We would certainly be happy to take their gracious donation.
Brian: And, Amy, if somebody wants to learn more about ADD Cares, how would they go about doing that?
Amy: They can follow us on social media and stay up to date with any new happenings. They can visit our website at addsys.com/blog to hear about our ADD Cares initiative. And we’re also in the process of creating an ADD Cares committee with ADD Systems employees to be able to extend ourselves a little further and reach more fundraisers.
Brian: Well, thank you both for joining me today.
Amy: Thanks, Brian, for having us.
Ally: Thank you.
Brian: To keep up with the latest happenings at ADD Systems, visit addsys.com/blog or connect with us on social media by following ADD Systems on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter/X. If you have any questions about ADDcast, feel free to reach out to us at addcast@addsys.com. Thanks for listening and have a great day!
Leave a Reply