Participation Opportunities Featured in Times

There are so many ways for members and units to participate in Pioneers' Centennial year.  One of the best ways to stay up-to-date on these opportunities is by registering your email address with Pioneers Headquarters to receive regular communication like the Pioneers Centennial Times.  We hope you will take an active role in our 100th anniversary by participating in ways like those highlighted in the current issue of the Times including -

pioneers centennial society
To commemorate this milestone year, we've created a special opportunity to become part of a select group of Pioneers who have committed to making a $100 contribution during our Centennial year - plus we're offering several payment options so everyone will be able to be a part of this special event.

When you join the Pioneers Centennial Society, you will receive the following:

• Your name will be added to our special Centennial donation wall, which will be online and at our Centennial Celebration in Boston. 

• All of the contributions you make as part of the Centennial Society will count towards the Centennial Rewards & Recognition Program.

Become part of the Centennial Society today by using your credit card.

centennial lifetime achievement award
In honor of the Centennial, a Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to individuals who go beyond the demands of everyday life and dedicate themselves to uplifting and improving the quality of life for others. This award is designed to recognize one individual from each Pioneers group for their extraordinary deeds throughout their time as a Pioneer.

Nominees must have been active in Pioneering for a minimum of 20 years to be eligible. All applications are due no later than June 30, 2011.  Download the manual.

centennial sweepstakes coming soon!
The 2011 Pioneers Centennial Sweepstakes will kick off mid-August.  Prizes include cash and vacation packages, with a Grand Prize of $25,000!  Entry will be available through your local chapter/council/club or through the Pioneers website.  Details will be shared in the coming weeks.

centennial merchandise
Have you purchased your limited-edition Centennial souvenirs and Centennial wear?  Be sure to visit Pioneers’ official supplier of Pioneers Essentials for pins, luggage tags, mouse pads, bookmarks, blankets, key chains, apparel and more – all sporting the Pioneers name and Centennial anniversary seal.

rewards & recognition program
Pioneers who have volunteered 400+ hours since our Centennial Rewards and Recognition Program launched have been invited to participate in an exclusive Chairman’s Conference Call with Pioneers Chairman, Jim Schmit, this month for an insider’s update on Centennial activities and plans.  Participate in the Centennial Rewards and Recognition Program by logging your hours into VolunteerNow and/or supporting the Pioneers financially

What Should We Be Dishing Up?

On September 11, the National Day of Service and Remembrance, the Pioneers Dish It Up: Feeding Families Healthy Food kicks off.

The focus is on collecting more nutritious, healthier, non-perishable food that will go directly to support local food banks and other food service agencies.

Feeding America provided Pioneers Headquarters with a list of the most requested food items from their system of over 200 food banks and thousands of other local service agencies that cover all 50 states.  With the support and endorsement of Feeding America, the most requested items were tweaked to highlight the healthier and more nutritious types of the product. 

Food recommended include:

Whole wheat pastas Brown rice
Canned fruits (packed in own juices, no sugar added)
Canned vegetables
Canned meat (tuna, salmon, ham, chicken or turkey)
Canned or dry beans – (i.e. black, kidney, garbanzo, pinto, navy)
Peanut butter

So as you plan your food drives in support of this or any project directed at helping our food insecure, strive to provide foods that will provide the greatest nutritional value.

Stay tuned for more information and tips on participating in Pioneers' first-ever Centennial International Project!

Moments in Pioneers History...The Golden Anniversary

As we continue our countdown this year to Pioneers' actual founding date of November 2nd, just five months away, we reflect on yet another great moment in Pioneers' history....

The year 1961 was full of 50th anniversary celebrations, with Chapters planning their own special events for the momentous anniversary on November 2. The 50th Anniversary theme was also carried throughout the entire year, with dinner dances, assemblies, pageants, media coverage, and other Chapter events.

On September 19-21, the General Assembly meeting was held in Boston, birthplace of both the telephone and of the Telephone Pioneers. Several speeches were given at the meeting, and one in particular was especially inspiring to the Telephone Pioneers: “We shall build a greater communications system in keeping with the needs of a new era in man’s history—and a service organization unparalleled anywhere in the world.”

The second 25 years of Telephone Pioneers history encompassed numerous accomplishments, changes, and innovations, both before and after meetings were suspended during the World War II years. In 1938, the General Assembly in Philadelphia had adopted a plan to divide the association into 17 regions along company lines, though it was realigned into 12 regions in 1942. At an executive committee meeting in New York in 1940, the decision was made to establish Affiliate Membership, so that members could retain their status even if they moved to a different Chapter. In Cleveland in 1946, at the first post-war General Assembly meeting, the 12 regions were further realigned, in order to balance membership numbers, which had reached 100,000 for the first time.

Then, at 1958’s General Assembly meeting in Chicago, just two years before membership ballooned to over 200,000, a change was made that would transform the entire look of the organization well into the future—the Telephone Pioneers adopted a new focus: community service, referred to as the organization’s “New Tradition,” but which still endures today.

International Centennial Project Gains Momentum

In response to chapter leadership feedback following the 2010 Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Pioneers Headquarters has been working with Pioneer leaders and members to create the first ever Pioneers International Centennial Project.  This September, we hope you will join in the largest North American-wide project in Pioneers history – Pioneers Dish It Up!  
 
Following months of talking to Pioneers, developing criteria, vetting, and tweaking, we will be coming together to address the issue of food insecurity in our local communities.  Pioneers have been feeding the hungry throughout our history through a variety of projects and programs – and this issue has never been more pressing than it is today.

The goal of this project is to mobilize and unite as many of our 620,000 Pioneers as possible over a two week period in September to help the ever-growing food insecure population across North America. 

There are 49 million “food insecure” people in the United States.  1 of every 4 children is at risk of experiencing hunger.  In Canada, over 800,000 individuals access food banks on a monthly basis.

Food banks have experienced severe shortages for the past few years as charitable giving has declined and more families have needed a helping hand.  

While there are many people doing great things around this issue, our research brought to light some harsh realities about the food being provided to those in need.  For example, many families have to eat highly processed foods that are full of preservatives and lack nutritional value, as that is the only food available at their local food pantry or affordable at their grocery store.  We all know that a healthy diet helps children grow, develop and do well in school and enables people of all ages to work productively and feel their best.  What people eat also can help reduce the risk for chronic diseases and reduce the risk of obesity and high blood pressure.

Pioneers can help address this issue by collecting and donating nutritious food to organizations that provide food, as well as by participating in service projects that help feed those in need.  This builds on the Pioneers history of food drives, working in soup kitchens, and other food projects.

Pioneers Dish It Up will kick off on September 11, 2011, the National Day of Service and Remembrance, with a focus on collecting nutritious, non-perishable food that will go directly to support local food banks and other food service agencies.  The project will wrap up the weekend of September 24-25, 2011 with food being delivered to the recipient organizations as well as the execution of the other service projects that help feed the “food insecure.”

Over 70 chapters/units have already signed up to participate and have even already started talking about ways they might collect the food listed on the recommended donation list including:

• Creating competitions/incentives (i.e. largest individual donation, each bag donated earns a prize, challenge teams to fill a box, etc.)
• Hosting a party with the cost of admission being a bag of food.
• Collecting food at life member luncheons or other Pioneers meetings.
• Asking your friends, family and/or colleagues to skip a meal and donate what they would have spent on food for the donation.
• Inquiring about the opportunity for your place of worship to hold a “reverse collection” where individuals give food in support of the Pioneers food drive rather than their normal cash donation.
• Including food drive information in take-home notices, school newsletters and calendars.
• Notifying your local community centers, churches, libraries, and the media about your event.
• Collecting food at sports events such as high school or college football games, etc.
• Involving fraternities and Sororities – they are often required to do community service and are often looking for service projects.
• Showing short videos such as cartoons or travelogues at lunch and suggest that admission is a few cans of food.
• Handing out donation lists to individuals entering your local grocery store for them to purchase and donate food on the spot.
• Encouraging cash donations.

If you are interested in participating in Pioneers Dish It Up: Feeding Families Healthy Food, call your Chapter President to see if and/or how your unit plans to participate.  If your chapter, council or club does not anticipate participating, please contact Kari Biesendorfer at 303.571.9262 or kbiesendorfer@pioneersvolunteer.org to see how you can get involved.

Have You Read the Centennial Times?

In addition to the weekly Pioneers' Centennial blog, a dedicated Centennial Times email keeps those who have registered their email address with us 'in the know' on all things related to Pioneers' Centennial year.  The current Times email includes highlights from some of completed Centennial grants projects that have taken place so far including:

    AT&T, Alabama Chapter, K!dSpark 

    On April 2nd, a state-wide event was held in Birmingham for 8th, 9th and
    10th grade students and their parents to address the major issues of
    workforce development and parental involvement in student education.  

    After a welcome session with state and local elected officials,
    students explored a variety of career opportunities, learning from
    volunteers representing career options.  Parents and/or adult chaperones
    also chose from a variety of breakout sessions addressing how to help
    students succeed in school, prepare for college or the workplace, as well
    as a number of other issues from personal financial self-reliance to finding
    resources to fund post-secondary education. 

    Event partners included AT&T, AT&T Foundation, AT&T Pioneers, Junior
    Achievement of Greater Birmingham, Mattie C. Stewart Foundation, and
    the City of Birmingham.

Register your email address to receive future Centennial Times emails!

Moments in Pioneers History...The Silver Jubilee

It was November 19, 1936, and the location was… 164 different cities and towns in the U.S. and Canada. The Telephone Pioneers celebrated their 25th anniversary, its Silver Jubilee, by organizing a massive, multi-location meeting with more than 25,000 Pioneers and guests total, all united by a telephone network that followed the events as they unfolded.

Chester Barnard, the association president and president of the New Jersey Bell Telephone Company, gave a rousing speech from Newark, New Jersey, praising the efforts of getting everyone together, despite the fact that they weren’t all in the same place. “Never before in the history of the world has there been such a convocation—continent-wide yet private to ourselves,” he said. “We are assembled at 167 separate gatherings of Pioneers in 164 cities, from St. John, New Brunswick, to San Diego, California; and from Miami, Florida to Edmonton, Alberta.”

The Telephone Pioneers had made a great many changes in those first 25 years, despite the fact that no meetings were held at all during World War I, and some of these changes had a significant impact on how the organization looks today.

In 1921, after the 1920 death of Theodore Vail, who had been the association president every year since 1911, the term of president was limited to one year (although Harry B. Thayer, who took over for Vail, was elected to two separate one-year terms, in 1920 and 1925). Under Thayer’s direction, and at the request of many Telephone Pioneers, the authorization was given to form local chapters, so members could participate in their own communities. In 1922, the first 12 chapters were chartered, and councils were added to the mix in 1930. Life Member classification was established in 1930, with the first Life Member Club formed in Canada’s Charles Fleetford Sise Chapter in 1935.

Centennial Community Grant Program Projects Continues to Ignite Sparks!

As our Centennial year progresses, more Pioneers' Volunteer Community Grant Program funded projects are taking place igniting sparks of volunteerism in communities across North America.

On March 26th, Verizon Pioneers' William J. Denver and Thomas Sherwin chapters participated in  “A Day of Caring” helping veterans and the homeless.  Funding from the Grant Program enabled the Pioneers units to hold four separate events throughout New England benefitting several organizations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.  More than 50 volunteers sponsored a luncheon or dinner and donated technology, supplies or personal items to organizations helping the homeless and veterans.  

On May 4th, AT&T Pioneers in Georgia announced the “Den Away From Home” project had been completed at the Rosel Fann Recreation Center.  Grant monies awarded from the Grants Program helped fund the remodeling of the Center's community room which will provide a place for youth to come and participate in supervised educational and recreational activities in the summer and after-school. AT&T Pioneers joined New Outlook Pioneers to refurbish the room. The work included remodeling, cleaning, re-painting, carpeting, installing shelving and adding new furniture, to provide for a safe and fun place for youth to socialize.

A total of 21 grants totaling $520,000 were awarded through the Pioneers' Community Grant Program ranging in size from $10,000-$50,000 to support Pioneers' projects commemorating Pioneers' Centennial in communities spanning North America from Texas to New Jersey to Prince Edward Island in Canada.  Stay tuned for more updates on grants projects taking place in Pioneers' Anniversary year and visit VolunteerNow! to find opportunities to volunteer in your local hometown!