Sensata Technologies held its annual day of service on Oct. 27 to encourage employee volunteers to support local communities and charities. The company’s designated day of volunteering is part of a series of year-end activities representing Sensata’s commitment to community stewardship.
Sensata Technologies’ employees volunteered with nonprofits and community partners to help restore communities where the employees live and work.
The service activities are facilitated by partnerships with charitable organizations that the Sensata Foundation has built in communities. Since the Foundation’s creation in 2017, more than $1 million in grants has been distributed to vetted organizations.
All Sensata employees based in the U.S. receive one paid day every year to engage in volunteering. Returning after a hiatus due to the pandemic in 2020, this year’s service events garnered 437 employees to join forces with 18 nonprofits and community partners in locations across the country. Given the backdrop of the pandemic, the company offered on-site and virtual opportunities to ensure employee safety while tackling volunteering projects.
Some projects this year included restoration of Mass Audubon’s All Persons Trails in Attleboro, Massachusetts; packing meals with Rise Against Hunger in Thousand Oaks, California and Carpinteria, California; assistance with warehouse tasks at Volunteers Enlisted to Assist People in Bloomington, Minnesota; updating education and recreation spaces at Girls Incorporated in Taunton, Massachusetts; assembling treats and adoption bags at the Oakland County Animal Shelter and Pet Adoption Center in Pontiac, Michigan; and working on virtual projects with Goodera that develop STEM and other learning content for children with disadvantaged backgrounds.
Casandra Tessitore, a Sensata employee who volunteered at Crossroads in Rhode Island, said the day provides an avenue for emplopyees to go outside their daily environments and learn the needs of their communities.
“It feels very good for me to be able to spend time in an activity like cooking for people who need help,” Tessitore said. “It is an opportunity to reflect on how blessed we are, then look externally and become aware of how some people are not as lucky. This is the kind of awareness I want to pass along to my children, as well.”
Jeff Cote, Sensata president and CEO, said he seeks to ensure his company is a partner, employer and neighbor “of choice.”
“Community impact continues to be relevant and important for our stakeholders — it is not just the ethical thing to do, it is our responsibility as a corporate citizen,” Cote said. “The foundation was created four years ago, and since that time we have made a substantial impact in our communities. After a very challenging year, our neighbors need us now more than ever, and it is incredibly rewarding to see the Foundation and our volunteering program engage in restoring communities. Ultimately, becoming a purpose-driven organization is about leaving our world better than the way we found it, and I am proud that Sensata employees are demonstrating this by putting action in lockstep with our words.”
