Members of TI Tucson’s Community Involvement Team, Lisa Goldsmith, Alan Johnson and Pattie Copenhaver, won a 2011 TI Founders Community Service Award for the group’s active involvement in the local community.

With a focus on their local community, the three members of TI Tucson’s Community Involvement Team (CIT) are making a tangible difference in the lives of the people they touch.

This small volunteer team was formed about five years ago after Alan Johnson, a TI project manager, began leading TI Tucson’s annual United Way campaign and quickly discovered a passion for volunteering with fellow team members Lisa Goldsmith and Pattie Copenhaver.

“There is such a great synergy between the three of us,” said Lisa Goldsmith, TI graphic arts manager. “Each one of us gets excited about volunteerism and jumps in to support and encourage each other in planning a new fundraising event or to help with other needed support.”

After the city of Tucson was impacted by the global economic downturn that started in 2009, the team began looking for opportunities for TI employees to be actively involved in impacting their community and for the community to feel TI’s broad and deep reach.

As a result, the team members decided to take on leadership roles to support fundraising activities and events in the areas of health and human services, safety and shelter, food and holiday giving.

Living United
When Johnson started leading TI Tucson’s United Way campaign in 2006, the site had less than 6 percent participation level. With his support, the participation level had climbed over 44 percent by 2010.

“We are very fortunate to have so many people in TI Tucson that are willing to make a difference and help us organize our United Way campaign each year.” Johnson said. “In 2010, our United Way Leadership team consisted of around 20 dedicated individuals.”

Through their work, TI Tucson donated more than $116,000 to their local United Way chapter by raising funds through a variety of employee organized and sponsored events.

In addition, over the past five years Goldsmith has grown TI Tucson’s Days of Caring effort to more than 125 employees and their families working together to benefit a local foster care organization. Last year, this group engaged in a barn-raising event that involved restoring a badly deteriorated barn for more than 100 children to use for recreation.

Feeding the hungry
When it comes to feeding the hungry, team member Pattie Copenhaver, a TI graphic designer, takes the lead. Her efforts to provide support for the Tucson Community Food Bank through innovative food and donation drives resulted in TI Tucson’s donation of more than $3,000 and hundreds of pounds of food in 2010.

“This is just one way that we can let the community know that TI cares,” Copenhaver said. “We want to make sure the money TI puts out there goes directly to the people who need it and our team agrees on how we should funnel funds to provide the greatest impact.”

During the holiday season, Johnson leads a team that raises funds for turkey donations to a local homeless shelter. Through Project Feed, TI donated 45 turkeys in 2010 that enabled the nonprofit organization to feed over 250 homeless people a home-cooked meal on Thanksgiving Day.

“We’re focused on making a direct impact on the community and the results are especially dramatic during the holiday season,” Johnson said.

Gift giving and more
Since the holidays are a particularly difficult time for people in need, Copenhaver and Goldsmith lead a team that works with GAP Ministries and The Giving Tree, which also sponsors Project Feed as a provider of food and shelter to the homeless.

As a nonprofit organization that oversees 10 foster care homes, GAP focuses its efforts on providing gifts to children during the holidays. Together with the Giving Tree, the organizations promote a holiday gift drive that encourages donations of stocking stuffers for children who would otherwise not receive holiday gifts.

Through these efforts, and the donations of TI Tucson employees last year, more than 100 children received gifts. Goldsmith and Copenhaver promoted the event, discussed donations with fellow employees and even shopped during nights and weekends for employees who did not have time but wanted to participate.

Johnson and his family prepared and delivered these gifts before the holiday. They also prepared food for the Giving Tree on Christmas Day.

“It’s a big responsibility to pick the most needy locations and to be a steward of TI’s money that goes out to the community,” Goldsmith said. “Since we live here, we feel equipped to make that decision by matching community needs with available resources.”

The team has also organized many other events, such as fundraising for the Haiti and Japan earthquake disasters.

“It is impossible for us to do what we do by ourselves,” the team said. “We have many, many dedicated individuals that help us plan and execute events, make generous donations and support what we do.”