Seven DPR volunteers from the So Cal office, plus a few family members, turned out to Girls Inc. Youth & Family Center in Costa Mesa, CA, on Dec. 14 for the DPR Foundation-supported Girls Inc. of Orange County’s annual “Winter Workers” event.

The event was the culmination of a month-long food drive held in DPR’s So Cal office, according to Melissa King, the Foundation liaison for that region. Since November, DPR employees were busy collecting canned and boxed food items and gift cards that would eventually make their way into the Winter Workers gift baskets, she explained.

At the event, the DPR crew joined some 200 volunteers and assembled gift baskets for needy families in Orange County. King explained that volunteers would start at one station with a box assignment – “18-year-old mom with four-month-old baby boy,” for example – and then take the box to various stations and fill it with appropriate items, such as food, household items, teen items, toys, and school supplies and books. The food items and gift cards collected in DPR So Cal’s food drive were among the goods the volunteers picked from when “shopping” for their baskets.

According to Molly J. Quirk, program services associate for Girls Inc. of Orange County, this year’s Winter Workers event broke records, with more than 200 volunteers working to assemble 214 baskets for families in need – far surpassing the organization’s goal of 185 baskets.

Founded in 1954, Girls Inc. of Orange County positively changes the lives of 4,000 girls ages 4 ½ to 18 each year by providing year-round holistic, compensatory and intentional programming focusing on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). Its mission is to inspire all girls to be strong, smart and bold.

Girls Inc. of Orange County is one of 15 youth organizations nationally awarded a total of $900,000 in grants by the DPR Foundation in December 2013. Since 2012, the Foundation has supported the organization with grants totaling $70,000. Additionally, DPR’s Southern California region organizes numerous initiatives with Girls Inc. throughout the year, including an annual sustainability-themed event. In April 2012, DPR was awarded a “Giving is Living Award” by OneOC, which recognizes businesses that exemplify a commitment to the Orange County community through employee volunteerism.