Planting 650 plants to transform a lawn into a wildlife-friendly meadow.

On Saturday, June 23, 2012, a team of Verizon employees volunteered with Liberty Mutual employee volunteers, Certified Wildlife Habitat owners, the National Wildlife Federation and thousands of Girl Scouts in celebration of the Girl Scouts 100-year anniversary celebration at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, NJ.

Shehul Desai of the IT department in Piscataway, NJ led a team of 42 Verizon employees, along with their families, in helping to plant 650 plants in an effort to transform a 1,500 square foot section of the park from a vast lawn into a wildlife-friendly meadow.  As you can see, Shehul got his whole family to participate in the special day, getting his parents, wife, and kids involved too!

When asked what his motivation was behind volunteering, Shehul mentioned that he had attended a town hall meeting the previous week where Robert Shapiro, vice president of IT Production Support and Testing for Verizon Enterprise Solutions (VES), emphasized the importance of the Verizon Credo and being a good corporate citizen.  Shehul’s manager, Marni Julian, also urged her team to give back to the community.  Shehul was so moved by the meeting that he took these words to heart and reached out and impacted his local community through his volunteer efforts.