Month: May 2024

National Volunteer Week is an opportunity to recognize the impact of volunteer service and harness the power of many individuals coming together to make change. It reminds us that when we come together, we have the power to tackle society’s most significant challenges, help build stronger communities, and be a force that transforms the world.

As we recognize Volunteer Week, the Foundation would like to celebrate the contributions of our employee Ambassadors, including the Foundation Board, who continue to take opportunities to serve their community. In March, the Board came together to roll up their sleeves and volunteer with Foundation grantee partner Cornerstones.

Cornerstones’ mission is to promote stability, empowerment, and hope through support, advocacy, and community-building for individuals and families in need. They achieve their mission through comprehensive programs and wrap-around services that solve urgent or ongoing requirements for housing, childcare, food, or financial assistance, intending to sustain healthy families, secure housing, and financial independence.

Volunteering with Cornerstones allowed the board members and staff to witness firsthand the organization’s impact on the lives of individuals and families while actively engaging to learn more about the community and contribute to positive change. “One of the things I enjoy most about involvement with the Maximus Foundation is interacting with the organizations we support and seeing firsthand the impact they have in our communities, ” Byron French, Maximus Managing Director and Foundation Board Member, said. ”I loved sharing this experience with fellow Maximus Foundation Board Members in the project we did at Cornerstones, an organization doing tremendous work not far from our corporate office.”

Like many nonprofit organizations worldwide, Cornerstones relies heavily on volunteer support to fulfill its mission. During Volunteer Week and throughout the year, we all can lend our time, expertise, and resources to amplify further the impact of those doing work in our community.

In celebration of Volunteer Week, the Foundation thanks its supporters for their invaluable contributions to giving back and invites everyone to explore opportunities to get involved and make a meaningful difference in their community. Whether it’s through amplifying nonprofits through social media, organizing fundraising drives, or visiting a local nonprofit to learn about the issues affecting our communities, we can all do something to be the change we wish to see in the world.

Giving back to the communities we serve

The Maximus Foundation is one of the ways Maximus employees are doing something greater together. Established by the Maximus Board of Directors in 2000, the Maximus Foundation is an independent, employee-led, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Employee donors pool their charitable contributions together through the Foundation, double their impact on the grantmaking program through Maximus’ dollar-for-dollar matching pledge, and make their voices heard by nominating and voting for future grantee partners. Though the Foundation focuses its giving strategy on grantmaking, it also helps coordinate corporate-wide humanitarian efforts and empowers employees to donate their time and skills to nonprofits. Their inspired giving and volunteerism help accelerate the missions of nonprofits on the frontlines of the communities we serve. Learn more at  maximus.com/foundation.

Covia is thrilled to be partnering with Monarch Joint Venture (MJV) in an effort to safeguard and enhance the habitat of the migratory monarch butterfly and other pollinators. Through MJV’s work, they aim to protect monarchs and their migration by collaborating with partners, like Covia, to deliver habitat conservation, education, and science across the monarch range. The monarch butterfly is facing significant challenges that have raised concerns about the sustainability of its long-distance migration. These obstacles have led to population declines, prompting consideration for protection under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Factors such as habitat loss, climate change, pesticide use, and the decrease in milkweed plants, crucial for monarch breeding, have all contributed to this decline.

Our shared goal includes the distribution of milkweed plugs throughout the eastern monarch population range in states such as Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, North Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota, and Missouri, often referred to as the “Monarch Central Flyway.” These efforts align with Covia’s commitment to the conservation, restoration, and enrichment of biodiversity. Learn more about Covia’s ESG efforts at https://www.coviacorp.com/esg/.

As part of our partnership, Covia will be distributing nearly 5,000 milkweed plugs to employees located within the monarch population footprint. We will be using various native milkweed species such as common, showy, swamp, butterfly, whorled, and spider milkweed to accommodate different regions. Milkweed plays a vital role as a food source and breeding ground for monarch butterflies.

In addition to the milkweed distribution, Covia’s Cleburne, Texas, plant is collaborating with MJV on a yearlong project to develop a multi-acre pollinator habitat at the plant. MJV will be offering guidance, expertise, and technical support in designing the habitat layout, preparing the site, selecting native plant species, and giving recommendations for dormant seeding.

“We are pleased to share that we have established a partnership with Monarch Joint Venture,” said Natalie Eglinton, Director of ESG. “Monarch butterflies and pollinators play a crucial role in our ecosystem, and we look forward to contributing to the enhancement of habitats for these important species. It is exciting to see that many of Covia’s facilities align with the Monarch Central Flyway, providing us with a unique chance to support the habitat improvement for pollinators and other wildlife.”