As part of our work with the Eugenio Maria de Hostos school in Yonkers, OmnicomCares is also holding a book drive, open to the entire Omnicom Family. They need to purchase 20 book sets to support their HEART curriculum (Humanity, Ethics, Aesthetics, Respect, Responsibility, Trust), and this is where everyone’s generosity can help out. If you would like to help the school, but cannot come to far-off Yonkers, please feel free to send a check to the following address:

Checks should be made out to ‘The Volunteer Center’; please put ‘Omnicom Book Drive’ in the memo field. Checks should be mailed to:
Robyn Pyles
Omnicom Capital
One East Weaver Street
Greenwich CT, 06831

Any amounts are accepted, as is cash. Please also include an email address so we can send you the tax deduction information.

Once again, thank you for everyone’s enthusiasm for participating in this worthwhile cause. And for those of you who will be joining us, we look forward to seeing you Saturday!

After so much work renovating the Eugenio Maria de Hostos Microsociety School a few weeks back, it’s not surprising that so many folks decided to put together their own films from the event. Here, again, is a sample of just how much fun good work can be, as well as a bit more on what this whole OmnicomCares effort is all about. Thanks so much to everyone who joined us, and please don’t forget to click on the ‘book drive’ sticker if you’d like to help more!

We’ve been a little curious here about the name of the school we’ll be working on come Saturday. So we opened up the google and did some research… and found a chunk of world history none of us had been aware of before.

We discovered that Eugenio Maria de Hostos was an activist in Latin America around the turn of the century. He worked on behalf of social justice and independence for all people throughout his life. He was both an administrator and a teacher; he founded a teaching school in the Dominican Republic that promoted advanced teaching methods and helped reform schools in Chile. While in Chile he gained the right for women to be admitted to public schools and to receive training in law and medicine. He wrote books, articles and treatises on social justice, many of which are still widely read today. Many of us were particularly moved by the epitaph he wrote for himself:

“I wish that they will say: In that island (Puerto Rico) a man was born who loved truth, desired justice, and worked for the good of men.”

Something we can probably all aspire to.

We all had a great time at Saturday’s event… and as this video will prove, there is no reason why fun can’t mix with elbow grease! We’ll be posting lots and lots of pictures from the event on our Facebook fan page in the coming days and weeks, so please “fan” us there if you’re on Facebook. If not, maybe twitter’s more your thing? Whichever way you choose, please follow us to keep up on the latest news and events.

Thanks again to an amazing team of over 100 volunteers! As the school’s principal said in the previous post, you really are an extraordinary group of individuals, and make us all proud to be part of the Omnicom Family.

As a sign of appreciation for everyone’s hard work on Saturday, we wanted to share with everyone a sweet thank-you letter we just received from the principal of the Eugenio Maria de Hostos School in Yonkers…

Dear Friends of the Eugenio Maria de Hostos School,

I want to say THANKS!!!. This morning the kids were so excited to see their new computer lab and could not believe how great the building looked. I have EVERYONE asking to get into the computer lab immediately!

I want to say that I was very impressed by the Omnicom volunteers. I could not believe what an extraordinary group of individuals you employ. It was so heart warming to see such a dedicated group of individuals. The day was officially called to a close and they did not want to leave until they were finished!
In the words of Henry David Thoreau, “One is not born into the world to do everything but to do something.” Omnicom is definitely doing something and it is evident that Omnicom Cares!
Regards and thank you again,

Elda Perez-Mejia
Principal, Eugenio Maria de Hostos MicroSociety School

We just received this fun video from our friends over at the Yonkers Public Schools. It takes some of our favorite moments from the recent service project at the Eugenio Maria de Hostos School in Yonkers, puts some music to it, and really gives you a sense of just how much fun everyone had at the event. Not to mention just how a simple clean-up can affect students’ performance and attitudes. Have a look at the video below, and make sure to follow us on Twitter or befriend us on Facebook for updates on upcoming projects and fundraisers!

It was a beautiful sunny day in Yonkers. About 100 volunteers from Omnicom and the community showed up ready to work, and the next thing you know, the Hostos school was a hive of activity. Volunteers scraped walls, taped windows and doors, primed and painted. A beautiful new computer lab was built, complete with interactive whiteboards to make for an exceptional learning environment. While there is plenty more work to be done, the day was an excellent fresh start for the school and the surrounding community. We’ll be posting pictures soon both here and on our Facebook page, and don’t forget to join in on the Book Drive!

We just wanted to put a quick post up today to let you know that you can easily follow OmnicomCares’ efforts – both today and in the future. We are on twitter and facebook, and will be posting pictures live from the event, as well as follow-up announcements from our Yonkers efforts. This will also be the place where you can be alerted to future efforts… so if you’re on either of those platforms, we hope you’ll follow us.

As part of its ongoing efforts to give back to the community, Omnicom’s Connecticut office will be hosting a Service Day at the Eugenio Maria de Hostos Microsociety School in Yonkers NY, on Saturday, November 7th.

Omnicom has a tradition of service, beginning in 2007 and carrying through to today.  This will be the first time Omnicom employees have worked in their local community, and we expect to host many more Service Days in the future. When choosing a project, Omnicom employees look for an opportunity to ‘get out and sweat’, where the hard work will have high impact on the lives of children and their communities.

The Hostos project is ideal for this purpose.  As a large elementary school in use year-round for school and community activities, maintenance staff rarely has the opportunity to perform large-scale projects.

Because the school lacks bulletin boards and other displays, nearly every wall in the school is covered with the remnants of glue and adhesive, remaining from previous attempts to display children’s art and schoolwork.  Omnicom staff and their families will be cleaning and painting hallways, classrooms and public spaces in order to provide a bright and cheerful environment for the kids. In addition, Omnicom will be building a small computer center which will be used for instructional purposes as well as publishing the school newspaper and eventually, technology instruction for the community at large.

One of the Yonkers Service Day’s organizers, Tracy Held (a 15-year employee of Omnicom) had this to say: “I am extremely lucky to work with a group of people at Omnicom that really tries to make a difference in children’s lives. It is so important to get out and show kids that there are people who care about them, who are willing to take time out of their own lives to do something that improves their environment. It doesn’t take much to inspire a child and to make sure they have the tools to succeed in life.”

Another long-term member of the Omnicom Family, Robyn Pyles, had this to add: “It’s a beautiful thing to be able to give something back, to share whatever I can with those who have not been as fortunate as I have been.”

Over the next few days we’ll be posting the “before” pictures, so you can see for yourself the need for Omnicom’s 2009 Service Day. We’ll also be posting a lot more about the “Microsociety” Project, and why it is so important to the future well-being of the children involved at the school. Check back for more information on how you too can participate!