HM employees know how to make a difference in their community – by digging hundreds of holes and carting mounds of mulch, volunteers created four community garden displays in the City of Pittsburgh.

Using their passion for pitching-in and collaborative community spirit, 19 HM employees volunteered their time to plant flowers for the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Leaving the comfy confines of the office for planting and hauling wasn’t new for most of the volunteers, who were on their second year duty for the Conservancy.

Last year the Underwriting team, with a department goal to organize four service projects a year, thought that volunteering with the Conservancy would be a great way to bring some beauty to the city where they work every day.  After word spread about the group’s great achievement last year, more HM employees wanted to get involved this year.

With a mix of veterans and new folks, the HM team created an assembly line of labor.  They had one afternoon to build and position an irrigation system, dig rows of holes, plant piles of flowers and spread heaps of mulch. The group’s long-established camaraderie and conventional accountability allowed them to move smarter and faster than expected, and their efforts resulted in stunning spreads of flora that everyone who enters the City of Pittsburgh will enjoy.

Working in a culture that promotes and encourages volunteerism makes it easy for HM employees to get involved with organizations like the Conservancy and creates outreach opportunities that help strengthen organizational team building initiatives.

With 140 community gardens in 20 counties, the Conservancy depends on corporate sponsorships and individual volunteers, like HM employees. The Conservancy, which creates green spaces to provide our region with clean waters and healthy forests, also preserves natural attractions like Fallingwater and appreciated the hard working HM hands!

Pictured Above: getting the ground ready for planting: (left to right) Beth Stackhouse, Heather Confer, Kristen Murcko; the volunteer group: (first row) Christy Faith, Jonetta Randall, Beth Stackhouse, Debbi Heckathorn, Heather Ryan, Ron Kotkiewicz, Karen Matthews, (second row) MaryJo Tambakis, Heather Confer, Kristen Murcko, Cindy Sherred, Ann Marie Cholewinski, Joe Zimmerman, (third row) Dan Stumpf, Randy Dunn, Candice Askew, Nancy Petrone, Nick Sarneso, Jeff McCormick; laying the mulch: (left to right) Joe Zimmerman, Debbi Heckathorn, Randy Dunn