Virginia Martinez
Virginia Martinez, Senior Operations Manager and Federal Express employee for sixteen years, received a call from Volunteers of America in May 2002. Would Fed Ex be willing to pick up boxes of school supplies that companies throughout the city were collecting for the children in our programs? Sure, we can do that was Virginia’s immediate response. When she learned the children benefiting from the back-to-school drive live in Volunteers of America family shelters and teen homes, are developmentally delayed and attending one of our early learning centers, or have parents who are critically ill, she wanted to do even more.
Federal Express had worked with other organizations on their holiday toy drives, but she had never heard of a drive to collect basic supplies for school. “This is a need that most people don’t know exists. I have two little girls myself, but it never crossed my mind that some families can’t afford to buy school supplies for their children each year. This has opened my eyes.” As a result, Virginia has taken both a professional and personal interest in volunteering her services and those of her colleagues at Federal Express.
After a successful back-to-school drive, we asked Virginia if Fed Ex could help us with our Toy drive and Secret Santa program, again picking up boxes of donated items. The holiday season is the busiest time of year for Fed Ex, and her drivers would be deployed elsewhere on the days we needed them, but undaunted, Virginia and her managers left their offices and on a rainy and cold December afternoon, delivered and unloaded FIVE TRUCKLOADS themselves. On top of that, the managers in 15 Fed Ex offices in Manhattan asked for Secret Santa letters; 88 children received personal gifts from Fed Ex employees.
Virginia voiced the feeling of many of her colleagues. “It was important for me to take my two daughters shopping with me for our Secret Santa gift. I want them to understand that not everyone is as lucky as we are.” Volunteers of America is lucky to have Virginia Martinez and the entire Federal Express team.