Orange Day in Orlando

Last week in Orlando, more than 1,000 GSK employees attending a national sales meeting gave 3 hours of their time for one of the largest Orange Day events yet. Orange Day is GSK's day of service that all employees are able to take advantage of. Twenty-one buses shuttled the group to two Orlando locations in need of help.  Half of the team went to a homeless shelter for women and children and the other half went to a large public park.  The volunteer work equaled 3,000 hours provided to the Orlando Community

At the homeless shelter site, volunteers got down and dirty, removing overgrown vegetation, planting gardens, building a playground, painting murals and putting together new picnic tables. 

"When the team pulled up in our buses, we all looked and wondered what we would do with just an open field of sand, trees and debris. In just an hour I was amazed--what a difference you can make in a short period of time when you apply energy to enthusiasm. I am proud to be part of this event and I will definitely look to do more in my own community when I get home," said one volunteer.

The other location was a large public park used by many in the Orlando Community. Each year, Moss Park serves more than 250,000 children. GSK Vaccines volunteers wasted no time in making improvements to the park by: installing sidewalks, removing overgrown vegetation, installing safety guide posts, sanding and painting picnic tables and pavilions, and mulching playgrounds.

GSK worked with a non-profit group called, Hands on Orlando, which helped coordinate the Orange Day event. Hands on Orlando works with dozens of Fortune 500 companies each year.

For information on Hands on Orlando, please visit their website: at www.handsonorlando.org.