550 GE Employees Volunteer 4,000 Hours to Spruce up Camp Cheerful CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 16, 2003--The grounds of Camp Cheerful, a camp for children with and without disabilities located in Strongsville, are bustling with activity and excitement today - but there aren't any campers present.
Instead, the grounds are crowded with over 550 Cleveland-area GE Consumer Products (GECP) employees and retirees. Leaving their desks and computers behind for the entire day, teams from all functions of GECP, plus representatives of nine other GE businesses, are rolling up their sleeves to complete over 40 maintenance and improvement projects as part of the 2003 United Way Day of Caring.
In just eight hours, the group will construct a basketball court, three horse shelters, a canoe launch, a fishing pond and an activities pavilion. Among other projects, GECP employees are also painting three cabins, a bathhouse and the main pavilion. Camp Cheerful provides children with disabilities a supportive environment where they can strengthen their abilities to become lifelong participants in all aspects of society and excel in their educational attainment, social development, and recreational activity.
The camp is a part of the Achievement Centers for Children, a private, non-profit organization that provides leading comprehensive services and programs in the areas of rehabilitation, family support, recreation and education to promote growth and independence for children with disabilities and their families. With over 1,700 children participating in Camp Cheerful's programs last year, the organization is growing to meet new needs and welcome new campers.
According to Tim Fox, Director of Camp Services, support from the Northeast Ohio community plays a key role in the day-to-day operations at Camp Cheerful. Each year, we continue to welcome more and more children to Camp Cheerful and constantly look for ways to enhance our programs and facilities to provide our campers with the best possible camp experience, Fox said. The generosity, dedication and hard work by all the employees of GE who are participating in this year's Day of Caring project will ensure new and wonderful camp experiences for future generations of campers.
GECP employees have a long history of pitching in to help Cleveland-area community agencies like Camp Cheerful. In the past three years, GE people have renovated and landscaped a Girl Scout Camp, a summer camp, 21 homes, six apartments, a day-care center, and a senior center for the University Settlement in Cleveland. Our GE Consumer Products employees take personal interest in supporting the community, said Joel Hutt, GECP's General Manager of Marketing Communications and Day of Caring Project Chair. It makes you feel good to work for a business that takes an active role in supporting and improving the neighborhoods where you live.
GE Consumer Products is an $8.5 billion business unit, providing products and services in the major appliance and lighting industries, manufacturing and selling more than 15 million appliances and 4 billion lamp products annually in over 150 world markets. General Electric (NYSE: GE) brings imagination to work, selling products under the Monogram(R), Profile(TM), GE(R), Hotpoint(R), SmartWater(TM), Reveal(R) and SmartHome(TM) brands. For more information about GE Consumer Products, consumers can visit the company's web site at www.GEConsumerProducts.com.
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CONTACT: GE
Ashley Davis, 216-266-3762