Community & Outreach

Making Boxes while Making a Difference

Supporting our community, and in particular veterans and currently serving members of the armed forces, is extremely important to us at Volk Packaging.

Several years ago, we ditched the generic giving campaign and chose two very inspiring Maine-based, veteran-focused projects that, at the time, were in their infancy: The Travis Mills Project and House in the Woods.  Today, in part due to our support, both are thriving. These two organizations are not, by any means, the only organizations we as a company contribute to, but they are the two we support in the biggest and most direct way through employee-elected paycheck withdrawal.  In case you are not familiar with these organizations:

The Travis Mills Project/National Veterans Family Recreation Center provides a completely handicap accessible and uniquely designed facility especially for disabled veterans located in the State of Maine.  This program provides a retreat for combat-wounded, disabled veterans, and their families. Thanks to our efforts and many others, the Foundation has served 210 families from 46 states.

House in the Woods is a program founded by a Gold Star mother and father from Maine who lost their son in the Iraq war. The program utilizes the Maine outdoors as a venue to bring military families together to help one another get through their shared experiences and challenges from service and sacrifice to America’s Armed Forces.

Our annual Community Support Week typically coincides with Halloween and we like to have fun, so we plan a week’s worth of contests, drawings, and fun to celebrate. We kick off the week with a continental breakfast and a company meeting at which VPC President Derek Volk challenges associates to consider what they can give from their weekly paychecks. Pledge cards and information are then distributed.  Associates who return their pledge cards that day are entered to win a day off with pay.  The rest of the week means penny wars for charity, lots of drawings and contests even for kids and grandkids, different foods and drinks provided at breaks, a corrugated pumpkin patch at which another day off with pay is given out as well as a costume contest.

In 2020, after sharing a bear hunt with veterans at House in the Woods, Derek decided to really encourage generosity by committing to a 50% match on donations or $5000, whichever was larger.  We met the challenge and made 2020 the most successful Community Support Week we have ever had!  We had beyond 100% participation because even some temps returned pledge cards. If all pledges are met, we will donate a cumulative $30,000 to House in the Woods and the Travis Mills Foundation in 2020.

The generosity shown by Volk Packaging associates amidst the economic insecurity brought on by a global pandemic was nothing short of amazing!

Some of the other veteran-oriented organizations we support include:

  • Biddeford, Saco, Old Orchard Beach VFW
  • Boots2Roots
  • Maine Veterans Project
  • Windy Warrior Adrenaline Therapy Program
  • Maine Veteran Homes
  • Vet2Vet

We also support The Root Cellar’s annual golf tournament, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Maine, Junior Achievement or Maine,  Grahamtastic Connection, Riding to the Top Therapeutic Riding Center, as well as numerous other organizations.