Posted on July 15, 2023 By CLEVELAND DAILY BANNER

WACKER-CHARLESTON summer interns Samuel Oke, Cole Carson, Jakob Lewis, John Franks and Divy Patel participated in a day-long homebuilding project for Habitat for Humanity of Cleveland.

On Friday, July 13, Wacker-Charleston summer interns and rotational engineering program team members partnered with Habitat for Humanity of Cleveland on a day-long homebuilding project at 1204 Franitza Way SW in Cleveland.

Wacker-Charleston has a rich culture and tradition of corporate volunteerism. The organization finds it rewarding for employees to impact the local community positively.

“To instill our company’s values and priorities, we involve employees early on with opportunities to volunteer their time and skills to help in various ways in the local community,” said WACKER-Charleston Site Director Ken Collins. “This is a positive and meaningful way to supplement their formal training and reinforce values that can be summed up in three words: caring, collaboration, commitment.”

Community Relations Specialist Lisa Mantooth is central to the heart and soul of Wacker-Charleston community engagement efforts. She is responsible for identifying employee volunteering and corporate sponsorship opportunities.

“We are blessed to have hard-working team members willing to share their time, talent, and energy to support community projects and initiatives throughout the Tennessee Valley,” she said.

Among this year’s summer interns supporting Wacker-Charleston operations is Ayomide “Sam” Oke, a Purdue University engineering student.

“I most enjoy the engineering adventures that unfold daily during my internship opportunity at Wacker’s Infrastructure department,” Oke said. “It’s like being part of a team that turns mundane projects into remarkable feats and transforming piles of blueprints into real-life masterpieces.”

“Oke’s experience with blueprints will be helpful as a Habitat for Humanity of Cleveland volunteer,” said Olga Santos, Wacker-Charleston’s training manager, who oversees workforce development programs, including technical operator and maintenance development, rotational engineering and internship opportunities for college students.

“Volunteering serves as an opportunity to remind ourselves that our corporate culture extends beyond the company and out into the world,” she said.