On August 4, 2022 when the SobelCo team headed to the Red Mill Museum Village in Clinton, NJ it was to carry out one of the firm’s most important values.  After all, “Care About Our People and Our Community” is the “C” in the acronym ENCOURAGE which represents our core tenets.

What we do

The day of service is choreographed from start to finish by the SobelCo summer interns. As soon as they arrive at the firm for their first day on the job, they are introduced to the Day of Service and their role as facilitators and cheerleaders.  It is serious business and it is understood that they have significant responsibility for creating a successful event.

It starts with weeks of organized fundraising initiatives that fall under the direction of the summer interns. It is their job to plan a range of activities that enable the firm’s employees to participate as donors. A lunchtime BBQ, games of chance and other fun initiatives complete the summer calendar, making it simple and enjoyable to give generously to support a terrific nonprofit.       

What we accomplished working together

This year there were many tangible results from our volunteer time and our financial commitment. The projects we completed to help spruce up the Red Mill museum Village included:

• Weed all gardens, Mother’s Garden, Herb and Vegetable (we filled a full size pickup truck)
• Paint the new 40 foot storage container to match the carriage sheds
• Paint the interior of the Schoolhouse
• Paint the ADA ramp at the Admin Building
• Paint the Admin benches
• Paint the Wheelhouse Benches
• Clean and wax all interpretive signs throughout the property

The results were immediately obvious! When visitors come to Red Mill Museum Village they will be welcomed by sparkling clean displays, newly maintained buildings, and a fresh face everywhere to greet them.  

When over 100 volunteers show up to devote a day to accomplishing critical projects, the tangible results are exciting – but so are the financial savings, which can be staggering.   To give you a peek into what the costs would’ve been for the tasks performed t the Red Mill Museum Village, their part-time groundskeeper is retired and pension restricted to $14 per hour; outside labor runs around $17-20 an hour; and a landscape company would charge approximately $3,000 to complete the work in the gardens that was done that day. All in all – a win/win for the organization and for our team.

At SobelCo we say, “It feels good to help those who do good.” Thank you to the Red Mill Museum Village for being great partners!