Sharp Lends a Hand Past Projects

It started with San Diegans like you who wanted to make a difference in San Diego. Thousands of you visited Sharp.com to learn about Sharp Lends a Hand, our initiative to unite our nearly 15,000 employees to provide the people-power — the volunteer labor — for community service projects that promise real change in San Diego.

More importantly, hundreds of San Diegans took the time to share their ideas for how we can create real change. From visiting home-bound seniors to building homes for those in need, amazing ideas flowed into our inbox. Thank you for your passion.

Then, we combed through the submissions and selected the top projects that met our criteria of supporting the health and well being of San Diego in a broad, positive way. Sharp's employees voted for their favorite community service projects and after more than 1,100 votes we narrowed down our selection to our top six.

Sharp employees completed the following projects:

Playground Beautification at the Valencia Park Drama and Dance Academy
Valencia Park Academy encourages their students to be engaged learners and performers. The teachers integrate drama and dance into a curriculum that elevates all students to excellence. Sharp Lends a Hand volunteers will help beautify the playground by repainting the hopscotch and foursquare lines, which provides the opportunity for the students to exercise and encourages positive playground behavior.

The San Diego Food Bank
The San Diego Food Bank feeds people in need throughout San Diego County and advocates and educates the public about hunger-related issues. Over the past three years, Sharp Lends a Hand volunteers inspected and sorted donated food, assembled boxes and cleaned the warehouse. Sharp Lends a Hand volunteers will continue their work with the San Diego Food Bank by inspecting and sorting donated food.

Stand Down for Homeless Veterans
One of Sharp Lends a Hands’ flagship volunteer efforts, this three-day event for San Diego’s homeless veterans was a huge success with Sharp volunteers for the past three years. Stand Down provides community-based social services for veterans without permanent residence. Sharp Lends a Hand volunteers will provide much needed medical attention, organize and distribute clothing in the clothing tent, and other volunteer assistance as needed.

YWCA of San Diego — Emergency Shelter
The YWCA Emergency Shelter provides transitional housing to women and children who have been victimized by domestic violence. Residents of the Shelter also receive counseling, legal support and intellectual and social services assistance. Sharp volunteers would assist in power-washing the patio, painting the walls, removing old toys and some light gardening.

Special Olympics
Sharp Lends a Hand volunteers will provide the “people power” for San Diego County’s Special Olympics year-round training and athletic competitions. Special Olympics of San Diego County has more than 1,400 athletes of all ages. The program provides sports training and athletic competition for all children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

International Coastal Clean-Up Day
I Love A Clean San Diego coordinates the Coastal Cleanup Day. This event engages thousands of volunteers that unite across the county to remove litter from beaches, bays, rivers, creeks, open spaces and urban areas. With so many sites to choose from, volunteering is made easy and participants can choose a site that matters most to them. All supplies are provided, and each site is led by a trained site captain. Sharp Lends a Hand volunteers will participate for the fourth consecutive year.