We congratulate the volunteers of SABIC who donated their time to help and give the IMPACT Ministries in Downtown Evansville a face lift. There are many corporate entities in and around Evansville who take their responsibility as a good corporate citizen serious and they do make a difference. We thank all the volunteers for their time and efforts.

Making quite an IMPACT

SABIC volunteers give agency's building a face-lift

After months of planning, a group of SABIC-Innovative Plastics engineers has turned a volunteer project into reality.

Nat Weiner, site engineering manager for the Mount Vernon, Ind., company, and more than 30 of his team members used Friday to give the IMPACT Ministries building in Downtown Evansville a face-lift.

For eight hours, the volunteers painted the building's bathroom floors, built and painted shelves, built several corn toss games and constructed a women's exercise facility.

"It's just awesome," said Greg Allen, executive director of IMPACT Ministries.

"The bathrooms are 50 years old and were refurbished 20 years ago. And we've been waiting on the exercise facility for about 10 months."

Allen said churches and other organizations have been donating equipment for a while now, but the equipment couldn't be used until the exercise facility was completed. The SABIC volunteers pulled up the carpet in the room and installed a new floor as well.

"The word is out about the new exercise facility. People have already been asking about it. We've already received 33 applications from women wanting to join," Allen said.

But SABIC's efforts helped more than just the women.

The volunteers built corn toss games for the children and built shelves to store their coats and belongings.

"The standard coat rack doesn't work for a 2-foot high kid," Allen said. As Allen wandered through the building, he said he noticed all of the volunteers seemed happy to be helping.

"These people are here because they just want to do some good," Allen said.

Shelia Naab, SABIC site communications leader, agreed with Allen.

"Our employees have an amazing desire to help in the community," Naab said.

SABIC employees have been involved with several cancer walks.

They've built playground equipment in Mount Vernon, and the engineers do science shows for fourth- and fifth-graders at local elementary schools. The company also has a partnership with Evans Middle School. Employees visit the school for various events, including Diversity Days.

"Well over 80 percent of my team is helping out in some way," Weiner said.

Allen said SABIC's efforts certainly will be well-received.

"Several hundred people come through here during the week," Allen said.

Source: http://www.courierpress.com/news/2009/jan/18/making-quite-an-impact/