Fostering Change Through Volunteering
Fostering Change Through Volunteering
Giving back to the communities where we work is hard-wired into the Gavin/Solmonese culture.
Since 2014, the Gavin/Solmonese team has contributed over 5,000 hours to numerous professional and nonprofit organizations through our employee-based volunteer and corporate engagement program, G/S IMPACT. The focus of the program is simple: leverage Gavin/Solmonese talent and expertise to help grow and sustain the professional or social missions of various nonprofits.
As we prepare for both the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges (NCBJ), and the IWIRC 23rd Annual Fall International Conference in San Francisco, we asked several of the women leaders at Gavin/Solmonese for their personal perspectives on volunteering and how it has affected their lives.
“When you ask our corporate recovery team members why they volunteer, there’s a common thread in the answers – we believe in sharing our collective knowledge and experience. For example, we have all had professional challenges and found ourselves needing a trusted resource for advice. More often than not, that resource is the American Bankruptcy Institute (ABI) and its membership. Today, our associates gladly participate by working on various ABI committees and assisting with fundraising for the ABI Endowment,” says Amy Gavin, G/S IMPACT Manager. Gavin leads the firm’s philanthropic initiative and is also involved with the International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation (IWIRC), ABI, Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania, and Women Donors Network.
WDN on the Hill 2014
For Meg Manning, Senior Director and Counsel, volunteering for a number of organizations such as IWIRC is part of her overall professional commitment to the corporate recovery industry. She now serves as an at-large director on IWIRC’s board of directors.
“I find that working with IWIRC strengthens relationships and bonds I have both inside and outside of Gavin/Solmonese,” says Manning. “Ours is an industry based on trust, so broadening my network gives me more opportunities to share ideas and collaborate. That’s good for our clients and good for our profession.” Manning also gives her time and talent as a member of the American Bar Association, Delaware State Bar Association, Pennsylvania Bar Association, Delaware Bankruptcy Inn of Court, Combined Campaign for Justice Committee of Delaware, ABI, and as a Guardian ad Litem for the Delaware Courts Office of the Child Advocate.
“I find volunteering for child advocacy especially rewarding and a good balance to the work I do everyday in our fiduciary services practice. As Guardian ad Litem to children first placed in foster care, I attend court hearings, school meetings, and probation meetings, working closely with the child, social worker, Assistant District Attorney, the foster family, and often times, when the goal is to reunify, the parents.”
Pamela O’Neill, Managing Director of the firm’s Valuation & Litigation Consulting practice, is an ABI member and a board member of both the Fanwood Scotch Pines YMCA and ire@Lehigh. “Being an active participant in local nonprofits is by far one of the most gratifying applications of my professional knowledge,” she explains.
“Among other things, you get to be part of something that positively impacts families and children like the YMCA. Much like the Gavin/Solmonese team, the Y has heart. So many enthusiastic, smart, kind people committed to a mission to enhance their community. I love making connections with my neighbors and being able to see positive change.”
Having worked in conflict-affected countries such as Pakistan, Iraq, and Serbia, Anne Eberhardt, Senior Director, Valuation & Litigation Consulting, has a unique perspective on volunteering her talent to various nonprofits that serve highly vulnerable people.
“In my volunteer work, I have been grateful for the chance to have met people I might not otherwise have known, and my relationships with many of them has enriched my life,” explains Eberhardt who is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists, and ABI.
“I once had the opportunity to work with a refugee who had suffered unspeakable trauma during the war in her home country. At some point, more than a year after our first meeting, she found herself in severe financial distress and contacted me for help. What she required was not difficult to provide, and she taught me an important lesson through her resourcefulness in activating her network to find the support she needed,” she explains.
Amy Gavin wrapped up the group conversation by stating that the firm is focused on more than just the bottom line. “As a corporation, we want to make a difference to our immediate communities and beyond. We’re proud that our associates make conscious choices to foster change by contributing their time through membership and leadership to a wide variety of organizations. We are always going to be fully meshed with our community, and we want to take the steps to make sure we can be the best corporate citizens we can be through engagement at every level,” said Gavin.