Today, National Grid marks the first anniversary of its Project C initiative with a Day of Service as more than 2,000 employees make positive impacts by donating their time at more than 200 volunteer events in communities across the company’s 26,000-square-mile New York service area.

With a focus on strengthening communities and making a difference today and every day, volunteer efforts are taking place at food banks, senior centers and veterans’ service facilities. In addition, National Grid employees are building homes through Habitat for Humanity and beds for children in underserved areas, cleaning up and landscaping neighborhoods and parks, providing various levels of assistance at nonprofits, and more.

Project C is National Grid’s Community Commitment to:  

• Build a better future by Connecting our communities to clean and sustainable energy.
• Care for our neighborhoods and their revitalization.
• Compassionately address the challenges our
  customers face, including environmental justice and social equity.
• Create the workforce that will help build New York’s
  clean energy delivery system.
• Collaborate with our customers, partners, stakeholders and so many others to deliver the clean, fair, resilient and affordable energy future. 

Since launching Project C in September 2021, National Grid has supported 9,000 businesses, launched 100 community partnerships, planted 1,700 trees, trained 1,400 workers to grow the clean energy workforce, and adopted 20 parks to revitalize gathering spaces. In addition, employees have volunteered more than 15,000 hours in their New York communities over the last year.

“From training clean energy workers to aiding local businesses, the past year has been filled with love and support for our New York communities,” said Rudy Wynter, National Grid’s New York president.  “Thanks to the hard work of our employee volunteers, partners, and other stakeholders, we have already accomplished so much. There is more work to be done, and we are more motivated than ever to continue to deliver for our customers and our communities.”  Wynter shares more about Project C’s impact in this short video.

Dedicated groups of National Grid employees spent months planning and partnering with nonprofit organizations, schools, community centers, parks and other groups to deliver the activities that are taking place today across the company’s New York footprint.

In Western New York: Employees are conducting maintenance, landscaping and painting at various sites across the region. This includes delivering Meals on Wheels in Erie and Niagara counties. In Genesee County, volunteers will prepare soil, rototill, shovel and rake as they build a community garden in Batavia, with a goal to grow vegetables to be used by the Salvation Army and the community. In Erie County, volunteers will build beds at Sleep in Heavenly Peace, and at two separate Buffalo sites, employees will distribute backpacks, clothing and packages of personal care items. In Niagara County, volunteers will serve lunches at Heart, Love and Soul Food Pantry. Employees also are set to return to homeless shelter Genesis House of Olean, where their work to upgrade that facility will continue.

"For the second year in a row, National Grid will volunteer at the Genesis House of Olean to help our residents have a nicer place to stay,” said Genesis House Program Manager Jim Swatt. “Last year these wonderful volunteers painted two rooms for residents and this year they’ll paint the upstairs hallway. We at the Genesis house thank them for their kindness and dedication to helping make a better life for Olean's homeless population.”

In Central New York: Local community leaders will unveil a series of murals painted by local artist Ally Walker at Syracuse’s Schiller Park. The murals celebrate the generations of new Americans who have populated the surrounding neighborhoods for more than 100 years. Company volunteers also will conduct a cleanup and tree planting at Schiller Park. Additional Central New York Day of Service activities include working with A Tiny Home for Good on two different construction projects to address homelessness in Syracuse, packaging non-perishable food to help fight food insecurity across the region, and beautification projects at Morningside Cultural Trails and Upper Onondaga Park in Syracuse, Fall Island Park in Potsdam, Higley Flow State Park in Colton and the Utica Zoo. National Grid employees also will prepare and serve food at local shelters and for Meals on Wheels, deliver property improvement projects at local senior living facilities, and work on property maintenance projects at a veterans organization.

“National Grid has been a mainstay in the Central New York community for decades,” said Lynn Hy, chief development officer for the Food Bank of Central New York. “Food Bank of Central New York is proud to partner with National Grid throughout the year on food security initiatives throughout central and northern New York. From monthly Project C volunteer activities to food and fund drives initiated by employees, National Grid is helping to make a difference in the lives of neighbors in our community in partnership with the Food Bank." 

In Eastern New York: National Grid’s Schenectady headquarters location on Broadway will include career exploration opportunities for students from several regional educational programs including: BOCES, the Schenectady SEAT Center, Girls, Inc., Northern Rivers and the Schenectady School District. Students will explore career paths in electric and gas operations, engineering, design, customer and community engagement and more.

"We value our partnership with National Grid and for the networking and other opportunities that they provide to our students, who learn about careers available to them through events like the Day of Service," said Capital Region BOCES Senior Executive Officer Joseph P. Dragone, Ph.D.

In Troy, at Frear Park, volunteers will scrape, paint and clean up the Oakwood Avenue Park entrance pagoda and clean up the nature trail and help build a new bog bridge. In Queensbury, employees will support the local land conservancy by building a new walking trail. Additional projects will support local community agencies including: the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society, Catholic Charities, the Schenectady Community Action Program, Patroon Land Farm, Habitat for Humanity, Bring On The Spectrum and others.

In New York City: Employees are volunteering at various park locations to help clean up, care for flower beds, plant trees, paint a skate park and other surfaces, including:  an It’s My Park Project at Marine Park in Brooklyn, general maintenance at Flushing Meadow Park in Queens, and the Bay Street Corridor on Staten Island.  In addition, employees will be volunteering their time at food banks, senior centers, holding virtual career panel discussions in high schools, reading books to children at a YMCA after school program, and preparing personal hygiene kits for shelters.

On Long Island: Employees will be volunteering for a Habitat for Humanity house build, and gardening and maintenance projects at the United Veterans Beacon House, which assists veterans and veteran families. Additional volunteer events include hosting career panel discussions at high schools, donating personal hygiene kits to those in need, assembling American Red Cross emergency kits, visiting senior centers, bathing and walking dogs for America’s VetDogs, delivering food to local food pantries and various park cleanups.

 
“The Day of Service is a microcosm of our year-round efforts,” Wynter said. “We’re inspired by the partners who we work with, by their resilience and their resourcefulness. Project C is about being present, engaged and driving positive impact in the communities and neighborhoods where our customers live, work and play. It’s reflected on days like today and in the hundreds of other projects our employees commit to throughout the year. This is in our DNA. This is who we are and I am filled with pride every time someone walks up to me and says, ‘Thank you, National Grid.’”

As part of the company’s Responsible Business Charter, National Grid has committed to amassing 500,000 volunteer hours  by 2030. In addition, across New York state, the company contributes more than $5 million annually to community-based organizations through our Corporate Citizenship efforts, including National Grid Foundation. Employees who are unable to volunteer have been encouraged to consider an act of kindness on Sept. 16. This may include making a difference for someone by finding a local organization that would accept donations of books, food or clothing. Another recommendation includes donating blood on that day.

Along with volunteerism, Project C focuses on four key areas: clean energy and sustainability; workforce development; neighborhood investment and community engagement; and environmental justice and social equity. The initiative is funded by National Grid shareholders.

Click here for more about National Grid’s Project C.

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