|
|
|
|
| WCS IN THE COMMUNITY |
WCS Lending, LLC Gives Back is an internal company charity effort created to support local and national charities
through direct staff volunteering participation, corporate sponsorship and fund raising events. WCS currently supports
and contributes to over a dozen organizations, which include:
As the community mourns the loss of Lt. Rafael Vazquez of Palm Beach County’s Fire Rescue, a family of Five (5) mourns
the loss of their dad, and a mom is left to support the family on her own. WCS Lending participated in "Dress Down Day"
as part of Moms Big Give fundraiser. All proceeds went to the Palm Beach County Firefighter’s Benevolent Fund for the
Vazquez Family.
A fundraiser was set in honor of Nancy Bochicchio, 47, and her daughter, Joey Bochicchio-Hauser, 7, who were killed
last December at Boca Raton's Town Center mall. All the money raised went to St. Judes Children's Research Hospital.
A single mother needed financial help to send her young son with autism to camp this summer. As a special bonus, the
camp was offering Eric a one-on-one counselor to help attend to his needs.
Charley’s Fund is named by the parents of a little kid with irresistible curls and a mischievous sense of humor who
was diagnosed with Duchenne. Unless a cure or treatment for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is found, Charley will lose
his ability to walk by adolescence, and subsequently lose all muscle function. Like all boys with Duchenne, his
survival rates are not good from respiratory or heart failure in his late teens or early twenties. Charley’s Fund was
incorporated on November 4th, 2004, just four months after the diagnosis. Charley's parents asked for WCS Lending’s
help to take full advantage of this momentum.
WCS Lending supports our troops stationed overseas. Supplies are desperately needed by the military, and this
fundraiser was started by Chris Bocko, a friend to WCS staff member Sherry Wagner, who’s husband is serving in
Afghanistan. Amongst the items bought were toothbrushes, shaving cream, shampoo, candy, snacks to give a little home
to our heroes.
WCS Lending participated in “BEAU'S PLATOON.” Beau MacVane is a young man who fought for our country to help protect
us all, now he fights for his life and needs our help After his service with the Army, everyone thought he was home
safe, but a new war started for Beau and his family. Just over a year ago, Beau now 31 years old was diagnosed with
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), a degenerative, neuromuscular disease commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease.
This terrible disease slowly shuts down the nervous system and muscular control, but has no negative physical affect
on the mind. There is no known cure for this disease and the reason for a higher incidence of occurrence among our
vets is undetermined. Although the disease has progressed rapidly, Beau has an athlete's physique, a steely spirit
and continues to be courageous. Beau carefully walks with the aid of a walker and often uses his wheel chair.
Campers at Camp Fiesta in Fort Lauderdale, Florida asked for WCS Lending’s help. Camp Fiesta is a place where for
Nine (9) days kids with cancer forget they have a disease. All of the campers have cancer and no one is singled out
for being sick or having no hair. It looks like a typical summer camp, but the Fifty (50) kids who go to Camp Fiesta
get much more than sports and activities in the Nine (9) days they are there. Campers are not only treated with respect
at Camp Fiesta, but they're treated to the whole camp! It's free! The estimated One-Thousand Dollar ($1,000) per
camper fee is paid by donations to the non-profit "Children's Cancer Caring Center."
The Mallory family home was destroyed in the tornado that hit Colorado last May. The tornado hit their home in the
middle of the afternoon with winds at almost 200mph. The family was forced to move into a rental home last month.
Although they are trying to put their lives back together, it is hard to replace clothes, dishes, furniture, etc.
Home State Bank has generously set up an account for the Mallory Family Tornado Relief Fund through which they generate
ongoing support.
Cheyenne’s husband, and a father of Four (4), is an OEF/OIF Army Ranger who was severely wounded oversees. He is
currently receiving care at the Spinal Cord Injury unit at the Miami VA and needed our help to raise money for his
family to visit him. Cheyenne and her children live in Tampa and travel to Miami as often as they can, but with the
price of gas sky rocketing, as well as the high cost of hotel rooms, it is getting harder for them to make the trip
down. We all know that when trying to recover the most important thing for these heroes is having their families close
and all support to this cause is greatly appreciated
The Special Olympics is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering individuals with intellectual
disabilities to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through sports training and competition.
Children and adults with intellectual disabilities who participate in Special Olympics develop improved physical fitness
and motor skills, greater self-confidence and a more positive self-image. They grow mentally, socially and spiritually and,
through their activities, exhibit boundless courage and enthusiasm, enjoy the rewards of friendship and ultimately discover
not only new abilities and talents but "their voices" as well.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida grants more than Five Hundred (500) wishes annually and has recently
granted the 6,000th wish since its inception. The mission of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida
(and all chapters) is to grant the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions. The foundation
relies on contributions from individuals and corporations as a major source of revenue.
With this in mind, WCS took this has opportunity to support all Mothers, Grandmothers, Sisters and Friends living with the disease
for this week’s charity event. All contributions benefited a very special mother and victim of breast cancer, whose daughter,
is regarded as part our WCS family. Christina Avoletta’s mother was diagnosed with Breast Cancer a few months ago.
Like the thousands of other women diagnosed each year, Angela Avoletta is fighting for her life. Christina has asked us to
help support her and her mother in these difficult times. Please take a moment and read the following letter written by Christina :
Recently my mother, Angela Avoletta, was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer.
She currently lives in Summerfield and takes her Chemo treatment. She had to take a leave of medical absence from work during
this difficult period. My younger sister lives with her and takes care of her but she needs more help. It has been very hard
for her to manage since she is out of work alot and she can not afford all the Chemo Therapy. I do as much as I can to help
her but unfortunately its not enough to pay for all her treatments. My mom has been my strength and has done so much for me
my entire life, I would like to give back to her as much as I can. It breaks my heart to see her in this condition, as Im sure
alot of you can relate. Every other week I see the wonderful things that we (wcs) do for other people. All of your help would
make a great difference and I would very much appreciate everyone's support for my mother and all the woman that struggle with
Breast Cancer.
The William Davison Memorial Fund was established by William’s parents, Gary, Jinger, and Gracie Davison, in honor of their
loving son to help assist students with their college preparation plans.
William, better known as Will, Davison was born on March 1st, 2007 at 7 pound 13 ounces and was born with a condition
called torticollis. As a result he also had plagiocephally. Plagiocephally is a misshaping of the head as a result of
gravity pulling to one side. This is very correctable and Will was receiving physical therapy for this. He was seeing a
wonderful PT who meant a lot to him and the entire family. Subsequently, Will was progressing very nicely and much progress was gained.
On July 25, 2007, nearly Five (5) months after he was born, Will passed away in his sleep. He was the victim of (SIDS)
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. As a remembrance to him, the William Davison Memorial Scholarship Fund was founded.
It is Will’s parent’s hope that many other children in the future can enjoy the legacy of giving that Will inspired in
his parents. Last year the scholarship raised an excess of $7,300.00 and Will’s parents hope to beat that amount this year.
The Arthritis Foundation is the leading health organization addressing the needs of some Forty Six (46) million Americans
living with arthritis, one of the nations' leading causes of disability. Founded in 1948, the Arthritis Foundation was
created to improve lives through leadership in the prevention, control and cure of arthritis and related diseases.
This was a tremendous opportunity for WCS to help improve the lives of so many men, women and children diagnosed with
this debilitating disease.
The overall mission of the Orphans of War Campaign is to save the lives of American soldiers while providing hope and
love to the more than One (1) Million Orphans of Iraq, the babies and children of a nation whose children have only known war.
The Orphans of War Campaign is the United States military's largest provider of teddy bears, dolls, toys, soccer balls
and stuffed animals. On average, they are shipping over Five Thousand (5,000) gift packages per month. Each package is
stuffed with a Teddygram written by kids for kids.
Yossa is an orphan care program in Malawi, Africa. In 2007, YOSSA received a startup donation from the Cepeda Family and
began construction in a soup kitchen. YOSSA honored that donation with a naming of the community center after
Carlos M. Cepeda, Sr. had passed away in 2006 and offered this donation as one of his final gestures.
Today, Carlos M. Cepeda Sr.’s children continue that support and the Mzumanzi community feeds over Three Hundred (300) orphans daily
through “Carlos’ Kitchen and Dinning Hall.” Since that time, many new developments have emerged at YOSSA. Two (2) large
donations were made and the funds were used for the construction of Four (4) classrooms, a community Library and for the
purchase of a Toyota Hiace Mini-Bus, which is being used for Business. The Mini-Bus is operating now and is generating
income to support the costs of the feeding program. YOSSA is now able to grow much of the maize and vegetables for the feeding
program in their own garden. There are four classrooms, which provide daily after-school educational support and recreational
activities (art, music, sports). The library is thriving and enjoying daily visits from YOSSA children and other community members.
They have even launched a tailoring workshop, where they are training several of the children to sew. Below are photos from
July of the completion of the construction.
As of now YOSSA is uncertain that there will be more funds for the orphan’s daily meals and staff salaries.
The large fund that was received has now ended and they are now relying on the Mini-Bus revenues for all operational costs.
The program is jeopardized by lack of adequate funding.
Ms. Watson is a single mother struggling to make ends meet. Although her money situation has become desperate, she has not
given up on the most important thing in her life, her children. As a single mother raising her own Two (2) children, Sandra
recently volunteered her help to raise Five (5) more children. Sandra wants nothing more than to give these children a better
life, however, the financial strains of caring for Eight (8) children has taken a toll on her life. It is for this reason
she has reached out for our help.
A great personal tragedy struck one of WCS’s very own family members, Igor Haracic. The Haracic’s family young son,
Dominick, after being hospitalized for Four (4) long months, gave up his brave struggle and passed away just Two (2)
weeks ago. Not only did his passing cause Igor and his family great personal tragedy, but it has also caused an incredible
financial strain. WCS matched all contributions made. WCS has always been a family and in times of need, families pull together.
The Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk helps offer care, support, and education in communities nationwide for the
estimated Five (5) million Americans with the Alzheimer’s disease. The Memory Walk is an opportunity for people
of all ages to come together to raise awareness for the Alzheimer’s cause, raise money for the Alzheimer research
and support persons with Alzheimer’s and their loved ones at any stage of the disease. All dollars raised by the
walk will go toward advancing important research into better treatments and a possible cure.
This fun and exciting event was held on Saturday March 7, 2009 at Huizenga Plaza in downtown Fort Lauderdale.
According to the 2006 census, Broward County’s pet population is approximately 1,700,000. Homeless Pets, Inc.
reports that 1 in 4 lost pets will not be recovered and returned to their families. It is even more heartbreaking
when you consider that millions of animals are relinquished to shelters in the U.S. for simple reasons.
The top two reasons for dogs are the owner relocates or landlord issues. The top reasons for felines are
that there are already too many in the home or allergies. The Humane Society of Broward County can continue
its mission - to provide shelter, aid and responsible adoptions to animals entrusted in their care, and educate
the community about respect and kindness to all animals.
A portion of all company proceeds go to help support these organizations, and WCS plans to donate to over Thirty (30)
more charities this year. We encourage employees to get out of the office and visit local businesses and organizations
to raise money for these individual charities, and are always actively looking to introduce our staff to new
organizations and efforts that they can choose to support. If you would like to contribute to any of the causes
noted above, or if you would like WCS Lending to consider a sponsorship of an important charity you support, please
forward any information to our Human Resources Department at HR@WCSLending.com.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|