Diana Hills-Milligan, Veridian Corporation has chosen custom personalized Cambiar Portfolios from ZOË Alliance as gifts for Veridian's Board of Directors.
“You can give it saying…this is not just a portfolio, it’s someone’s life that you have changed…that says alot.” Diana Hills-Milligan, Veridian
Veridian Corporation is a great place to work according to many of its employees. The company, who employs over 200 employees, distributes electricity in the cities of Pickering and Belleville, the towns of Ajax, Port Hope and Gravenhurst, and the communities of Uxbridge, Bowmanville, Newcastle, Orono, Port Perry, Beaverton, Sunderland and Cannington in Ontario. In 2009, Veridian was honoured for its commitment to community and employees by making the GTA Top 75 employers list – a special designation that recognizes the Greater Toronto employers that lead their industries in offering exceptional places to work.
“We take our corporate social responsibility very seriously at Veridian, with an annual budget for community building, education and hospitals approved by our Board of Directors each year,” said Diana Hills-Milligan, Manager, Executive Office and Public Affairs, during a recent discussion about Veridian’s perspective on corporate social responsibility.
One example of the incredible responsiveness that Veridian and its employees shared was their response to the disaster in Haiti. The company quickly mobilized a fundraising committee that organized several fundraisers. They challenged every employee to donate $10. So far, with the company matching employee donations in addition to government matching, they have raised over $7,800.00.
When asked about how all this community investment impacts Veridian’s culture, Ms. Hills-Milligan commented, “there is great satisfaction and pride associated with getting involved in the community. We participate in local activities like fundraising walks and bowl-a-thons together. It creates a great sense of community within Veridian.”
Veridian has chosen to purchase custom personalized Cambiar Portfolios from ZOË Alliance with the Veridian logo to present to their Board of Directors at the end of their 4-year term. When we started to talk about this choice, it was evident that this was something that Ms. Hills-Milligan had put some thought into.
“I’m quite excited about presenting the leather portfolios to the directors and can’t wait to see their reaction.
I think it’s a fantastic idea to give gifts like this because it provides the person who is receiving the gift more than a portfolio. It is more personal and unique.” Ms. Hills-Milligan continued, “You can give it saying…this is not just a portfolio, it’s someone’s life that you have changed…that says a lot.”
The team in Lake Amatitlàn, Guatemala is excited too. Ms. Hills-Milligan is quite accurate in her comment about changing lives. In fact, the Spanish word for change is Cambiar, and that is exactly what is happening for Lilly, Wilma, Raul, Jorge, and many others as a result of this decision. On their behalf, thank you Veridian for extending your social impact to this village and these families!
