Giving Back

Team ESPN honors employees who give back at Volunteer of the Year Celebration

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SUzjFJle-A&feature=youtu.be

Team ESPN honored some of the company’s hardest working individuals on Wednesday afternoon, not for the hours they put in at their jobs, but for those they spend volunteering in the community.

The annual Team ESPN Volunteer of the Year Celebration was held at ESPN’s Bristol, Conn. campus, with hundreds of employees coming out to support their selfless coworkers who donate time, money, skills and compassion.

“At ESPN, we want to not only be a great company, we want to be a great corporate citizen,” said ESPN President John Skipper. “We want to matter in the communities we are in.”

“Volunteering is a part of our culture. It distinguishes us and the type of people we are.”
– ESPN’s John Skipper

The 2013 award winners’ volunteer efforts ranged from teaching English as a second language both in the Bristol, Conn. community and abroad; packing deployment kits for active military; raising money for Boys & Girls Clubs and The V Foundation; crocheting blankets; delivering food to homeless shelters; improving ESPN’s composting habits; and creating a new V Foundation PSA featuring several high-profile athletes and Good Morning America co-host and former SportsCenter anchor Robin Roberts.

“I take incredible pride working for ESPN; I think it’s a tremendous honor. With that comes a tremendous responsibility,” said honoree Andy Katz, an ESPN.com senior writer, reporter, host. “We have a responsibility as employees of ESPN. . . to do everything we can to make the immediate world around us a better place.”

Skipper commended ESPN’s entire workforce for meeting more needs and giving more money in 2013 than in years past. He noted more than 40,000 people were affected by ESPN employees’ volunteerism.

“Volunteering is a part of our culture,” said Skipper. “It distinguishes us and the type of people we are.”

The Team ESPN honorees included:

  • Volunteer of the Year: Milynn Swofford, senior director, Talent Management.
  • Volunteer Team of the Year: ESPN Veterans Group
  • Commentator of the Year: Andy Katz, ESPN.com senior writer, reporter and host of Katz Korner and The Experts
  • Regional Volunteer of the Year: Francine Dozier, administrative legal assistant.
  • Environmental Champion: Denise Pellegrini, senior executive assistant to the President
  • V Spirit Award: John Hassan, senior deputy editor, ESPN.com

Video produced by Josh Lander and Kristen Hudak

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