1. !
Claire'Carlson'
Linda'McGuigan'shares'her'
passion'for'making'a'difference'
through'giving'as'well'her'
appreciation'for'PBs'support'of'
those'efforts.!
How'did'you'first'become'involved'in'philanthropy'at'Pitney'Bowes?'!!I!was!proud!to!join!a!company!that!gives!back!to!its!communities!
and!engages!its!employees!in!philanthropy!programs.!I!am!equally!proud!to!serve!on!a!regional!board!of!buildOn,!which!happens!to!be!
one!of!the!Pitney!Bowes!Foundation’s!grantees.!This!nonprofit!has!been!a!great!fit!for!me!both!personally!and!professionally.!I!am!very!
passionate!about!expanding!the!horizons!of!our!youth!and!giving!them!a!chance!to!watch!them!realize!what!positive!change!agents!they!
can!be.!I’ve!learned!new!skills!and!networked!and!developed!relationships!with!people!at!other!companies!that!I!never!would!have!had!
the!chance!to!work!with!otherwise.!It!has!been!a!wonderful!opportunity!and!one!that!I’m!privileged!to!be!involved!in.!!
How'has'your'experience'with'buildOn'impacted'you'personally?'!!Through!my!work!with!buildOn,!I!have!witnessed!both!the!power!of!
one!and!the!power!of!teams.!!
The!founder!of!buildOn,!Jim!Ziolkowski,!exemplified!the!power!of!one!by!transforming!his!single!idea!into!a!reality!and!engaging!the!likeG
minded!spirit!of!so!many!others.!Each!student!in!buildOn’s!youth!service!programs!learns!about!the!limitless!power!they!can!have!
through!community!service.!They!help!the!homeless,!seniors!and!children!in!their!communities,!and!learn!to!confront!these!urban!
struggles!with!passion!and!optimism.!Last!year,!nearly!17,000!students!provided!nearly!1.4!million!hours!of!service!to!their!communities.!!
In!places!like!Haiti,!Mali,!Nicaragua,!Senegal,!Burkina!Faso,!Malawi!and!Nepal,!buildOn!partners!with!villagers!to!build!new!schools!for!
their!children!and!has!built!674!schools!to!date.!It’s!a!powerful!model,!where!buildOn!provides!the!materials!and!the!skilled!labor!needed!
to!construct!the!school!and!the!village!provides!labor.!Before,!students!were!squeezed!into!dark!and!crumbling!mud!huts,!were!taught!
under!trees!when!the!weather!permitted,!walked!miles!to!a!neighboring!village,!or!didn’t!attend!school!at!all.!As!a!result!of!the!program,!
approximately!12,000!adults!have!completed!their!18Gmonth!adult!literacy!and!numeracy!program,!and!more!than!90,000!children,!
parents!and!grandparents!attend!classes!in!buildOn!schools!around!the!world!on!any!given!day!!!
The'Pitney'Bowes'Employee'Giving'Campaign'is'currently'underway.'How'do'you'leverage'this'program'in'support'of'your'cause?'I!
am!a!huge!fan!of!the!matching!gift!and!volunteer!grant!programs!offered!by!the!Pitney!Bowes!Foundation.!It’s!very!powerful!to!have!
Pitney!Bowes!show!that!it!cares!about!what!I!care!about!by!matching!my!contributions!and!providing!grants!in!recognition!of!my!
volunteer!service.!I!appreciate!that!the!company!makes!it!easy!to!give.!Payroll!deduction!is!a!great!example.!My!charity!doesn’t!have!to!
do!anything!and!they!receive!my!monthly!or!one!time!contribution!all!at!once!–!no!forms!to!fill!out!and!I!can!spread!it!out!over!the!year.!
And!I!think!this!year’s!theme!–!Join!the!Pitney!Bowes!Giving!Team!–!further!demonstrates!both!the!power!of!one!and!the!power!of!teams.!
I’m!inspired!to!give!and!very!inspired!by!the!collective!impact!we!make!as!employees!contributing!what!we!can!to!our!communities.!!
What'advice'do'you'have'for'your'fellow'employees'at'Pitney'Bowes?'!
Get!involved.!We!all!can!make!a!difference,!and!it’s!a!great!feeling!on!so!many!levels.!For!me,!witnessing!young!people,!frequently!from!
extraordinarily!underprivileged!backgrounds!become!inspired!and!motivated!by!service!to!others!,!is!profoundly!gratifying.!There!is!a!
direct,!and!often!immediate,!impact!that!is!evident!by!the!work!that!buildOn!does,!which!is!to!instill!confidence!and!give!hope.!I!can!think!
of!no!greater!gift!one!person!can!give!to!another!than!the!gift!of!opportunity;!and!that!is!precisely!what!buildOn!does!through!service!and!
education.!!
!
Linda!McGuigan!is!Pitney!Bowes’!Vice!President!
Enterprise/Corporate!Innovation.!She!has!a!passion!
for!connecting!with!customers!and!our!communities.!!!
For!the!past!two!years,!Linda!has!been!actively!
involved!with!a!USGbased!nonprofit!youth!
development!organization!called!buildOn,!whose!
mission!is!to!break!the!cycle!of!poverty,!illiteracy!and!
low!expectations!through!service!and!education.!