Executive Spotlight Lisa Lepine The Arc of Macomb County Clinton Township, MI

For over 15 years, Comcast Cares Day has provided an opportunity for Comcast NBCUniversal staff to volunteer their time with non-profits, schools, parks and other organizations to a positive impact within their local communities. Once again this year, chapters of The Arc across the country partnered with ComcastUniversal – and The Arc of Macomb County was one such chapter. Lisa Lepine, the chapter’s executive director, chatted with us about her chapter’s work and the value of inclusive volunteering.

Tell us about your project for Comcast Cares Day! What type of project did you do? Are there any other community entities or groups that you partnered with? How many people did you impact in your community?

Approximately 50 Comcast volunteers, from ages 6 to 60, spent Comcast Cares Day with more than a dozen employees, board members, and clients of The Arc of Macomb. The Arc of Macomb serves several hundreds of people per year, including operating a day program, organizing community outings, and providing employment services for people with developmental disabilities. Comcast volunteers organized the project of removing landscape rocks and weeds, installing barriers, and replacing the rocks; cleaning other landscaping and hardscaping; and repairing and painting walls inside the building. Some of Comcast’s employees drove almost two hours to attend the event! Several of the younger volunteers painted rocks to distribute throughout the grounds, beautifying the appearance for The Arc’s employees and clients. Both frequent and new visitors have appreciated and commented on the improvements from Comcast’s volunteers.

How did you get connected with Comcast?

The Arc of Macomb has used Comcast Business for its internet and phone systems for approximately four years. The Arc chose Comcast for its reputation for reliability and service. Although occasional outages are unavoidable, Comcast has consistently provided accurate estimates of expected downtime and repairs, enabling The Arc to effectively allocate its resources during interruptions in service. Comcast’s on-site technicians have been helpful, timely, and worked well with The Arc’s IT company to keep things running smoothly.

Why do you think it is important to engage in inclusive volunteering in your community?

The Arc of Macomb’s mission is to help people with disabilities and their families engage meaningfully in their communities. Volunteerism – from everybody! – is an important and inclusive way for people to interact with people in their communities, particularly with people whom they might not otherwise meet. Volunteer events like Comcast Cares Day fosters connectedness among people in a community and thereby strengthens the community in immeasurable ways.

What advice do you have for other chapters and organizations looking to get involved in inclusive volunteer opportunities?

Many people want to volunteer in their community, but they don’t always know exactly how. Conversely, organizations always want volunteer help, but the volunteer opportunities they have don’t always line up with the volunteers’ availability. Comcast’s organizers scheduled a clearly defined date and time a few months in advance, held a pre-event planning meeting a few weeks before the event, clearly communicated the details of our organization and of the event, and obtained the necessarily materials in advance. The planning of the event, combined with the communication of the details of the organization and of the event, were critical to the success of the event. Going forward, most volunteerism will be centered on a clearly defined event, with clear and concise descriptions of the organization and the event.

See more photos from The Arc of Macomb’s volunteer day.