Fundraising for the Holidays
The holiday season is known as the season of giving; a time when we provide our friends, families, and loved ones with tokens of appreciation. It’s also a season when many companies, like PQA Testing, look to make a larger social impact by giving back to the communities in which we live and work.
This year, the team at PQA was able to raise over $3,000.00 for their charity, Christmas Families.
The fundraising activities were led by PQA’s Social Committee Co-Chairs, Michelle Burns and Mathieu Hachey, and were supported by PQA’s internal staff volunteers. The team hosted a series of 50/50 draws throughout the year, held bake sales and seasonal basket draws, and they topped it off with a technology-enabled silent auction for extra vacation days to be taken over the holiday season.
Special thanks to all those who participated in the events, to both Michelle and Mathieu, Ellery Furlong, and Ben Poudrier who helped to organize these various initiatives, as well as to Keith McIntosh for donating the most popular item to date, vacation days.
What is Christmas Families?
Keith McIntosh, Founder and Co-CEO of PQA, began Christmas Families 10 years ago. Christmas Families is a charity that helps many families during the holiday season by providing them with basic living necessities that they simply cannot afford, but that are essential in order to get through the winter. The families are chosen through local churches and charities in NB who encourage the families to register if they are in need of assistance.
PQA and its Social Committee are tasked with purchasing the gifts and donations based on the families’ lists of needs. This may include warm clothing, winter jackets, boots, gloves, hats, and toys for children to open on Christmas Day. They are then wrapped and presented in the hopes of bringing holiday cheer to those who are less fortunate.