WEST ALEXANDRIA —The RexArc Corporation in West Alexandria turned a walking club into a charity drive, and the company donated $425 to the West Alexandria Foodbank just in time for Thanksgiving.
“We’re very proud to raise the $425,” Tiffany Wendling, project engineer at Rex Arc, said about the drive. “It was a great opportunity for employees to get engaged with the community they work and live in.”
To raise the money, 18 workers at the West Alexandria location walked quarter mile laps around the RexArc facility. Each lap the employees walked raised 15 cents for the food bank. Workers found time to walk before and after work as well as during lunch breaks according to Wendling.
Wendling explained how the project got its start. “In early March I presented the idea of a walking club to Rob, and we worked together to define the parameters of a program and select the organization we would support,” she said. “I am passionate about the homeless and hungry so I did a little research about local organizations and we decided that a great charity would be the West Alexandria Foodbank.”
It’s a brand new program for the company, who hopes to continue to develop new ways to give back to the community.
In total, the 18 participants in the walking club collectively walked 2,835 laps or 708.25miles which equates to $425 earned for the West Alexandria Foodbank.
Five members walked more the 230 laps between March 30, when the club started and Labor Day, Sept. 7, when it ended.
Those employees who averaged two laps per day or walked a total of 230 laps were also awarded a t-shirt for their efforts.
Mark Elliott, an employee with RexArc, said, “If there was silver lining involved, a lot of employees who don’t see each other on a day-to-day basis got to spend time together, and develop new relationships.” This was an unexpected benefit of the program, according to Wendling.
