Eight Schwab volunteers are standing outside the Boys & Girls Club as the center’s director prepares them for a one-block walk in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District. He points to a yellow painted path on the sidewalk and tells the volunteers – just as he tells the kids in the center’s afterschool program – to follow the line for a safe trip down Jones Street.

Welcome to the ninth annual Schwab Volunteer Week – a time when thousands of employees give back to communities across the United States.

After the volunteers arrive safely at their worksite, they immediately start removing books, sorting educational materials and “deep cleaning.”

For volunteer John Pacheco, that meant grabbing some rags and window cleaner.

“The area where I was cleaning windows is being converted over the summer to a teen center from a younger children’s clubhouse,” John said. “Come this fall, no doubt the new teen center will be a terrific launching pad for Tenderloin youth to excel in their high school studies and explore colleges. That’s exciting!”

Also working on the 20-person Tenderloin team were Brian Howell of Denver and Vicki Mueller of Fairfield, CT, the recipients of Schwab’s 2011 Outstanding Community Service Award. They flew to San Francisco to work on the project headed by Charles Schwab Foundation President Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz.

Both Vicki and Brian felt right at home at a Boys & Girls Club. In keeping with Schwab’s national alliance with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the two award-winners have led financial education sessions through the Money Matters: Make It Count(SM) program in their local communities.

During a previous Schwab Volunteer Week, Vicki led her entire branch team in teaching a Junior Achievement course to promote financial literacy. She has also been an active board member with the Visiting Nurses Association of Ridgefield, CT, which provides home health care, immunizations and disaster recovery services.

For more than 15 years, Brian has volunteered with a wide range of nonprofits, and he has also encouraged others to get involved in community service. Thanks to his recruiting and promotion efforts, nearly 200 Denver volunteers have signed up to serve at financial literacy events.

Vicki and Brian are just two of about 2,600 Schwab employees volunteering this week on more than 160 different service projects in 45 U.S. cities. But they’re also living proof that our community service will continue long after this Schwab Volunteer Week is in the history books.

Volunteer John Pacheco	Brian Howell, Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz & Vicki Mueller

 

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