It's Not Too Late To Be Good

What began as a decision to sponsor a few families for the holidays turned into a full-fledged gift-giving extravaganza. When Sirois Tool/Dow Gage decided to participate in the Berlin Community Services Holiday Assistance Program, they were sparking a generosity streak begun by the company.

It started as a simple “beer mug” auction two years ago, where raffle tickets were placed inside beer mugs correlating to desired auction items donated by the company, with all proceeds going to Berlin’s Social Services. In 2010, with fewer than 40 employees, the raffle raised $1,625 and in 2011 it raised $1,750. This holiday tradition has grown into a company-wide effort to support the less fortunate in their community through the generous donations of employees.

As part of the Holiday Family Assistance, Berlin Social Services gave them a list of five families, and it just wasn’t enough. “We ran out of kids before we got to all the employees,” Trish Carone said, Accounting and Office Manager for Sirois Tool. “We were hoping for big families, families with five kids.”

The children’s ages ranged from one to 17-years, and their requests generally included coats, hats and gloves. A 16-year-old asked for SAT books and one 15-year-old boy wanted a lava lamp and ankle socks. Beneath her desk, Carone has over one hundred and eighty diapers for the one-year-old.

With every gift bought for the individual family members, the employees also focused on getting together family-oriented gifts: food baskets, DVD rental gift certificates, local restaurant gift cards, and gas cards. This holiday spirit extends back to Thanksgiving, when many of the employees elected to give $25 to Social Services in lieu of the turkey the company gives them.

As if the donations weren’t generous enough, at their annual holiday party they raised an additional $400 which was used to purchase six blankets, three bed spreads, more food and some gift cards. Next year Sirois Tool/Dow Gage hopes to sponsor twice as many families. Contact your town’s Social Services department to sponsor a family in need this holiday season. It’s not too late to be good.

Sirois Tool/Dow Gage is a manufacturing company that produces precision tooling and gage products for a variety of industries. They have been in business since 1960 and located in Berlin CT since 1999. For more information go to www.siroistool.com or www.dowgage.com or call (860) 828-5327.