Charlie Breitrose
Several Tufts Health Plan employees spend the day at the Commander\’s Mansion planting flowers and plants.
Groups of people in blue T-shirts could be seen around Watertown last week working on a variety of projects – all part of the Tufts Health Plan Corporate Volunteer Day.
More than 130 employees of the company based on Mt. Auburn Street in Watertown took part in the company’s sixth annual volunteer day.
Some cleared brush and planted flowers and plants at the Commander’s Mansion and the Old Burying Place; while others painted the railing at Watertown’s Main Street Bridge, buildings at Arsenal Park and a wall at Filippello Park.
Charlie Breitrose
Bob DiRico of the Watertown Department of Public Works hands out plants to volunteers at the Commander’s Mansion.
A wall on Baptist Walk (off Mt. Auburn Street in Watertown Square) was primed for a mural project to be done by Watertown High School students. Employees also sorted donations and stocked shelves at Cradles for Crayons in Brighton.
Tufts Health Plan
Tufts volunteers paint the iron fence at the Old Burying Place on Arlington Street.
Stephany Arnold, who is a project coordinator in Tuft’s Medical Policy department, helped organize the plantings around the Commander’s Mansion. The group moved some plants from around the former home of the commander of the Watertown Arsenal, and created plantings in large urns around the grounds.
“We have a garden at work, and I am one of the captains for that,” Arnold said. “I love being outdoors and planting.”
While Arnold knew one of the other Tufts employees from the work garden, she got to know others during the volunteer day.
“One of the nice things about the volunteer day is it brings together people from all the teams (at Tufts),” said Bobbie Oldytowski, a corporate communications specialist at Tufts Health Plan.
The work was much appreciated by the staff at the Commander’s Mansion.
“It’s fantastic!” said Tammy McKenna, facility manager at the mansion. “We love having them here. They started with the arbor a few years ago and now the plantings. It’s absolutely gorgeous.”
Charlie Breitrose
Some of the plants relocated on the Commander’s Mansion property by Tufts Health Plan employees.
Public service and volunteerism are a vital part of the corporate culture at Tufts Health Plan. Each year employees are allocated eight hours of paid time off to give back to the communities in which they live and work.
Tufts Health Plan
A wall on Baptist Walk in Watertown Square is being prepped by Tufts volunteers so it can be turned into a mural.