Unitil employees recently rolled up their sleeves to help a local nonprofit that pairs puppies with veterans as part of the company’s commitment to the veteran community, which also includes plans for the utility’s 4th Annual Veterans Day Career Fair to be held on Nov. 7.
Several workers visited Exeter-based Hero Pups on Oct. 24 to lend a hand with various projects around the facility, which serves as the new home for the volunteer-run organization that provides support dogs to veterans and first responders who have been diagnosed with service-related psychological challenges.
This is the first time that Unitil, a provider of electricity and natural gas to customers in New England, has assisted the Hero Pups organization. The community service work was part of Unitil’s continued effort to support veterans. The company is also hoping that its upcoming career fair will attract more veterans interested in employment opportunities in the utility industry.
The fair, which is open to the public, will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. at Unitil’s Seacoast Operations Facility at 30 Energy Way in Exeter. Veterans and others seeking a new career path will have a chance to meet with company representatives to learn more about culture, benefits, and employment options for positions like customer experience representative, meter technician, safety specialist, stock clerk, gas and electric field operations, and administrative and operational support roles.
“With approximately 20 veterans currently employed here at Unitil, we’ve learned over the years the value they bring to the utility industry,” said Unitil External Affairs Director Alec O’Meara. “A career fair that appeals to veterans has become an effective way for us to connect with service members who may be exploring new job opportunities.”
O’Meara said the career fair is just one of the ways Unitil is reaching out to veterans.
Laura Barker, who founded Hero Pups after her son was wounded in Afghanistan, described the help of Unitil and other volunteers as critical to her nonprofit.
“It’s what keeps us going. Whether it’s Unitil or any of our other corporate partners, they’re instrumental in making the big things happen. It means so much to the veterans and the first responders who get the dogs from us because they know it’s not just us. They know that corporations like Unitil have provided time to help make this an enjoyable experience and a calming and peaceful place,” she said.
Unitil’s community service work involved moving furniture, removing brush, finishing kennels, and putting the finishing touches on other projects that Hero Pups and its volunteers worked on over the summer.
Tonia Vaccaro, Unitil’s manager of Talent and Corporate Administration, was familiar with Hero Pups and its mission to connect veterans with support dogs and decided to reach out to see if Unitil could assist in some way. The organization accepted the offer of help and it didn’t take long for employees to sign up.
Kurt House, a Unitil gas service adviser and 16-year employee, is a dog lover and was glad to participate. “It’s always nice when you can help out with something like this. Everything is volunteer-driven so every little bit helps,” he said.
House was so impressed with the work of Hero Pups that he informed the organization of his plans to volunteer there on his own in the future. “I have a couple of buddies that have been in the service and one has a service dog. I don’t want to say it’s personal, but it kind of is for me. I have three dogs of my own as well and this is just something that I would definitely enjoy doing,” he said.
Anna Heil, a supervisor of administrative services who has worked at Unitil for five years, said she wanted to help because she understands the important role that support dogs play after her own experience with comfort dogs visiting her mother in the past.
“I really appreciated that and I know that Hero Pups does something similar for veterans. I have a brother- in-law who’s a veteran and I appreciate any kind of opportunity to serve our veterans,” she said. “This seemed like a great opportunity to do something for a great cause, and to play with puppies.”
About Hero Pups:
Hero Pups is a non-profit organization based in New Hampshire that pairs support dogs with veterans and first responders throughout New England who have been diagnosed with service-related psychological challenges. Laura Barker founded the organization after her son was wounded in Afghanistan. Hero Pups was founded on the belief that since our Heroes have already given so much, it’s the least we can do to provide them a companion to help them lead a happier life, free of charge. Hero Pups received 501(c)(3) status in 2016 and is 100 percent volunteer-run with no paid staff.
Learn more about Hero Pups and how you can help at heropups.com.
