Back row, from left, Erin Collins, Linde Senior Communications Manager; Brian Bodkin, Linde Mentor; Holmes Principal Matthew Raines; Carolyn Caruso and Brian Kraftschik, Linde Mentoring Program Coordinators; and Greg Wilber, Linde Technology Center Site Director. Bottom row, from left, Holmes students Giavella Thomas, Isaac Jackson, Jamir Houston, Jace Kohler, and Antonio Mazurek.
On Thursday, September 14th, representatives from Linde presented Holmes Elementary School with a $5,000 grant secured by the company to support its long-standing Mentor Program partnership with the school. Linde, one of the town's largest employers, is an industrial gas manufacturer located nearby Holmes Elementary School.
During the check presentation ceremony, five students who are currently involved in the Mentor Program were treated to a live demonstration of a Rubens tube by Bradley Damstedt, Senior Technology Expert at Linde. This device showed the students how sound waves from specific frequencies, the students' own voices, and selected songs impacted the flames, allowing them to visualize the sound waves traveling through the tube.
Linde is committed to improving the communities where we live and work, and employee volunteerism is central to our core value of community. Linde recognizes exemplary community engagement projects globally each year. As a part of the Linde Community Engagement Award program, beneficiaries of several projects are awarded charitable donations to extend and deepen the impact from these efforts. Linde Technology Center’s engagement with the neighboring Holmes Elementary School is a recent awardee, and Linde is delighted to provide $5,000 from Linde’s Global Giving Program.
The Linde-Holmes School Mentoring Program was established in 1992 with the belief that our employees can positively impact children in our community. Approximately twenty employees serve as mentors each year, spending time with an individual student at least twice a month, usually for most of the student's elementary education (grades 2 through 4). Activities are varied and include working on school assignments or needed developmental areas, playing games or talking together. Mentors also participate in group activities with the school, support fundraising and leadership-building with students and work hand-in-hand with school staff. More than 400 children have benefited from the program since its inception.