Charity

The Sundance Vacations Haunted House “Sundance at Sundown” was a HUGE success. The Haunted House was held at the company’s corporate headquarters on October 22^nd, October 23^rd, and October 24^th.  Sundance Vacations participated in USA Weekend’s annual Make a Difference Day event. The MADD is a day dedicated to giving back to your community.

The entry fee was $5. Sundance Vacations also provided baked goods to all guests in efforts to raise more money. Sundance Vacations raised $1300 for the SPCA (Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) of Luzerne County. All proceeds raised were donated to the Luzerne County SPCA. “Consumers who don’t know Sundance Vacations may be skeptical or even misguided by thinking that Sundance Vacations is a scam,” said Sundance Vacations Founder Tina Dowd. “But, our employees illustrate who we are and what we believe in by their actions every day. This charity project fits two of our core values: to create fun and to give back. We’re proud of Sundance Vacations’ reputation in the community,” added Dowd.

Last year employees helped raise $2, 830 for Habitat for Humanity.

Sundance Vacations takes pride in raising money to help out in their local communities. We thank each and every one of the Sundance employees who helped make the Haunted House a success. Did you come to the Sundance Vacations Haunted House? Did you have a “spooktacular” time? If not, what charities have you been working on in your community?

Sundance Vacations recently donated school supplies as well as three office desks to John Bartram High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The supplies donated will benefit students in grades 9-12. The supplies ranged from binders, pen and pencils, notebooks, folders, pencil sharpeners for the classroom, Sharpie markers, etc. In addition to the donation of school supplies, Sundance Vacations employees also donated three office desks to teachers at John Bartram High School. The donations were very much appreciated by the students and teachers alike. “Sundance Vacations understands that a brighter future for Philadelphia starts with the children in our school systems, especially the students at John Bartram High School,” said Assistant VP of Sales Shane Lewis.

Do you have any recommendations for the next Sundance Vacations donation?

Sundance Vacations recently donated a vacation week to the Chicago Better Business Bureau in support of the Chicago BBB Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics. The company is honored to support the 13^th Annual Torch Awards Program. Sundance Vacations donated a seven night free vacation to one of Sundance Vacations’ numerous resort properties. The Torch Award ceremony will be held on Thursday, December 3^rd at the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza, Chicago. Sundance Vacations has a proud member of the Chicago Better Business Bureau since 2005.

Have you made a donation recently? What is your favorite charitable organization to donate to?

Sundance Vacations recently donated to the RAACE Foundation. The RAACE (Race Against Abuse of Children Everywhere) Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect children against sexual abuse. Sundance Vacations was contacted by Mr. Brad Brickel, a RAACE participant, to sponsor him in a RAACE fundraiser. Sundance Vacations Founder Tina Dowd received the call and was eager to help. Tina Dowd presented an idea to give employees the opportunity to donate their employee incentive points to the RAACE Foundation. When announced, Marketing Department employees were eager to donate their points. The employee’s V-points were then converted into a cash donation. Sundance Vacations raised a total of 85,504 V-points. The company generously matched the money raised, making the GRAND TOTAL– $3,353.00.

Great Job Sundance Vacations, it’s always nice to see employees come together and make a difference!!

What are some charities that you have volunteered with or donated to?

Sundance Vacations recently teamed up with the Philadelphia Eagles Youth Partnership. The company participated in this year’s fundraising event themed “Flight Night”.

Sundance Vacations has been a proud supporter of the Eagles Youth Partnership (EYP) since 2007. The company has contributed more than $10,000 to the EYP organization. Sundance Vacations King of Prussia employees participated in Eagles Flight Night’s huge success which surpassed attendance and fundraising goals. The event brought more than 31,000 Philadelphia Eagles football fans from all across the region to Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa on Aug. 2, raising more than a million dollars for the organization!

All funds raised at Eagles Flight Night benefit Eagles Youth Partnership’s (EYP) community programs. Eagles Youth Partnership serves over 50,000 low income children in Greater Philadelphia every year with an immense focus on health and education programming. EYP takes its services directly to kids at their schools and in their neighborhoods. These mobile services - the Eagles Eye Mobile and Eagles Book Mobile programs - are like wings on wheels, blending celebrity with fun in order to reach the hardest to reach children.

Sundance Vacations was proud to be a part of the fun at Eagles Flight Night, and we look forward to next years fundraiser.

Sundance Vacations will open their doors to the public for their second blood drive this year. The event will take place at the Sundance Vacations Corporate Headquarters located at 264 Highland Park Blvd, Wilkes-Barre, Pa. The headquarters is adjacent to the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza. The date is set for Monday, June 15th from 12:30pm until 5:30pm. Sundance representatives encourage their neighboring community and businesses on Highland Park Blvd to drop by for the worthy cause. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.

Please come out and help support the American Red Cross.

On March 9^th Sundance Vacations teamed up with the Wilkes-Barre Chapter of the American Red Cross. Sundance Vacations volunteered to hold a donor bank at their corporate headquarters. The Wilkes-Barre sales office employees including Director Irene Sisk were very instrumental in the drive as well as Charity Coordinator Kelly Valovich. Numerous Sundance Vacations employees also took a few minutes to donate for the cause. The goal for the American Red Cross was 18 people, and they surpassed their goal by 22 people. Sundance Vacations hosted 40 people in their corporate office during the drive. “It’s refreshing to know that our corporate office can come together for such a worthy cause. The entire event was very successful,” said Charity Coordinator Kelly Valovich. In addition to volunteer time, Sundance Vacations also gave a monetary donation of $5,000 to the American Red Cross. The event was so successful the company is planning another drive on June 16^th. Be sure to come out and donate again. What are your ideas to make the next blood drive a bigger success?

The Sundance Vacations Dowers Grove office was selected as a finalist for the Charity Contribution Award by the Downers Grove Chamber of Commerce.

The award will be judged by the company’s unique or innovative approaches, community involvement, employee empowerment, and the vision and mission of the selected company.

The award luncheon will be held on Wednesday, February 11th at the Doubletree Guest Suites and Conference Center in Downers Grove, Illinois.

Congratulations to everyone at the Downers Grove office! Keep up all of the great work!

Sundance Vacations successfully raised $2830 for Habitat for Humanity during our participation in Make a Difference Day. Several Sundance Vacations’ employee volunteered to build a home in downtown Wilkes Barre. In addition to the volunteers who dug ditches and carried construction debris, many employees made a difference by selling tickets for $5 to win an excess inventory vacation.
The funds raised in each office will be sent directly to the Habitat for Humanity that is local to that area. The winner of the excess inventory week was Leona Dworchaek from the Shamokin area. The employee who sold the most tickets was Pam Fantaskey. Pam also won an excess inventory vacation for raising the most funds.
We also want to express our gratitude to the entire staff who helped make this charity event a big success. We will enroll our “event” in the Make a Difference contest. If our charity event is chosen as the winner, we will get $10,000 from Newman’s Own Salad Dressing to donate to Habitat for Humanity.
We will participate in the Make a Difference Day again next year. We will be looking for bigger volunteer opportunities for next year. Send in your ideas.

Sundance Vacations donated a free trip from the excess inventory list to St. Aloysius Elementary school in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. The school sold over 500 tickets and raised over $2,000. The money raised will help the school with expensive necessities, such as repairs.

Tina Dowd had the honor of picking the lucky winner. Gloria Sadowski of Hunlock Creek, Pa was the winner of the free trip. Her grandson Matthew Sipski a student at St. Aloysius sold her the ticket. “I forgot I even bought a ticket, and when my grandson called and told me I won, I was very shocked. I can’t wait to go somewhere warm,” said Gloria Sadowski.

Sundance has donated to numerous charities and organizations throughout the years. Do you have any favorite charity stories to share? 

-Amanda