Community Service

What Can We Do to Make a Real Difference in Our Community?

From our earliest days, we have been asking this question. Our deep commitment to service is at the core of our mission. Our employees are actively encouraged to identify their deep-seated, motivating interests and find an avenue of expression—both on the job and in the community. From scholarship programs to blood drives to the Adopt-a-Highway program and more, volunteerism runs rampant, with employees initiating most of the work.

Perhaps our most ambitious project to date has been the Adopt-A-School program. The program began in 1998. Since then, each week on company time, volunteer employees head over to Parkwood Elementary School to tutor children in math and reading. These employees show the children, through their words and their presence, that they are important.

The Backpack Buddies program is another major undertaking we strongly support. It’s a fantastic program that provides students with food for the weekend. Eligible students receive backpacks filled with enough food for six healthy meals and two snacks. The children take the backpacks over the weekend and return them on Mondays. Then, over the course of the week, our employees bring in groceries to fill those backpacks up again.

Another focus area is the environment. On top of working hard to reduce our environmental impact, we support NC Greenpower, a landmark initiative approved by the NC Utilities Commission. An independent, nonprofit organization, NC Greenpower focuses on improving North Carolina’s environment through voluntary contributions toward renewable energy and the mitigation of greenhouse gases. Employees donate to NC Greenpower through payroll deductions. FARRAGUT matches contributions.

In addition to these ongoing projects, employees continually find ways to contribute to charities throughout the year. For example, each holiday season, we focus on a different charitable cause. Over the last holiday season, employees donated gently used clothing to First Baptist Church of Raleigh's clothing ministry to help support individuals during times of need.

Then there is the community of FARRAGUT, made up of people who actively choose to stand by each other—especially in times of need. Yvette Flounoy, a former admin who now heads up HR, recalls a time when an ill employee had to discontinue working but faced a gap in time before his long-term disability kicked in. Employees donated 90 days in full pay. Another employee who had a pre-mature baby was provided, over time, several freezer’s worth of Dream Dinners (the cost was split between employees and the company).

“We stick together. We’re a very close-knit company,” said Yvette. “Those of us who have been here for many years work very hard to bring the newer employees into the circle.”