We Are TMA Day 2022
We have SO much to be grateful for at TMA, so we decided to do something special for the season of giving. In partnership with TMA Cares [our volunteering and community service initiative] we hosted our first ever We Are TMA Day! All agency employees got the day off to give back to the communities where we live and work through leadership-led service projects. This was such a meaningful time of gratitude and gave us all some much-needed face-to-face time right before the Thanksgiving holiday. Here’s a look at what went down.
DALLAS: TRINITY COALITION
Trina Roffino and Greg Neal proudly led our Dallas group serving with The Trinity Coalition, a nonprofit that supports the preservation, protection, and enhancement of the Trinity River through hands-on recreation support. Everyone got in kayaks and canoes at the Fraiser Dam Recreation Area and spent the day cleaning up trash along the river.
DALLAS: VOGEL ALCOVE
A second Dallas group, captained by Amy Erschen, spent the morning putting on a fun fall festival for kids at Vogel Alcove, an early childhood development center for children and families experiencing homelessness. Vogel Alcove’s teachers, social workers, counselors, and therapists help children cope with the trauma that comes with being unhoused and give parents the support they need to get back on their feet.
LOS ANGELES: WAGS AND WALKS
This TMA crew led by Tom Meyer walked, played, and provided rescue dogs with lots of love and attention at Wags and Walks rescue center in West LA. Wags and Walks is a dedicated community of dog lovers working to reduce euthanasia in local shelters and increase awareness of rescue dogs as wonderful pets, as well as advocating for wrongfully stereotyped bully breeds, medical dogs, and mamas + puppies that are often overlooked and at-risk due to overcrowding.
NEW YORK CITY: MATERIALS FOR THE ARTS
Led by Suzanne Balbadar, New York City and Stamford combined forces to volunteer with Materials for the Arts, NYC’s largest creative reuse center dedicated to supporting arts and cultural organizations. They collect material for all kinds of creative work and make them available, free of charge, to nonprofits with arts programming, as well as New York City public schools and city agencies. Our east coast team spent the afternoon helping organize and sort these materials.
CHICAGO: BLESSINGS IN A BACKPACK
Chicago partnered with Blessings in a Backpack, an organization that feeds children who are fed at school during the week, but don’t have access to affordable, nutritious food on the weekends. Led by Susan O’Leary and Veronica Appleton, our Chicago employees spent the day filling 500 weekend bags with healthy food to send home with children as well as writing encouraging notes to kids and their parents.
IRVINE: CREATIVITY LAB
Irvine sponsored a STEAM workshop at a Title I school through Child Creativity Lab. Child Creativity Lab’s mission is to foster the next generation of critical thinkers, problem solvers, innovators, and leaders through hands-on creativity-enhancing exploration. Monica Simoneaux and Jen Daly led the team who taught third and fourth graders how to build STEAM skills and make a zip line carrier.
Our remote and international employees were also encouraged to take part in We Are TMA Day and given resources to locate local service opportunities where they live. We are so thankful to everyone who was able to participate and excited to add this special day of gratitude and service as an annual TMA event – can’t wait to do it again in 2023!
Check out more photos from We Are TMA Day HERE.
