Community

For MSE employees, commitment to excellence extends beyond the workplace and into our communities and the world around us. Always striving to make the world a better, safer and more hospitable place, MSE employees support a large number of charitable organizations and participate in many and varied charity events. In addition to the numerous fundraisers and events supported by individual employees and their families, the MSE family often works together, combining our resources and abilities to serve our communities with increased dedication and purpose.

Liberty USO

Liberty USO, whose staff and volunteers provide comfort, morale and recreational services to military personnel and their families at nine military bases and more than 20 National Guard Armories and Reserve Readiness Centers in Southern New Jersey and Pennsylvania, is one of the many organizations MSE supports.

On Friday, October 5, 2012, MSE will sponsor the Liberty USO Gala, a black-tie event held at the Hyatt Regency at Penns Landing, Philadelphia, PA. Celebrating 71 years of service to the U.S. military, the Gala will honor a Service Member of the Year from each of the five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard) as well as the 2012 Chairman's Award recipient, Rob Wonderling, President and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce. General Raymond T. Odierno, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, will receive the prestigious Liberty Award for his distinguished service to our nation and tireless support of service members and their families. Click here for details about Liberty USO and the 71st USO Gala.

Burlington County United Way

Each year in June, the United Way of Burlington County, New Jersey, holds a “Day of Caring” to assist several local charities. In 2012, MSE marked our 14th year of participating in the Day of Caring event, with a team of 15 MSE employees and their families joining forces to help Providence House Domestic Violence Services (PHDVS) of Catholic Charities in Burlington Township.

The American Cancer Society

Each year, MSE participates in the American Cancer Society’s annual Bike-a-Thon, which took place this year on July 8th. This 40th annual ride ranged from 20 to 100 miles, beginning in Philadelphia, PA, and ending in Buena, NJ. MSE was proud to participate in all facets of the ride, providing volunteers, riders and contributors in support of the ACS. The trailblazing cancer research funded by the ACS has led to valuable developments in identifying risk factors, improving quality of life, stunting cancer growth with fewer side effects and saving lives.

Junior Acheivement of New Jersey

MSE has been proud to join Lockheed Martin in multiple Junior Achievement of New Jersey (JANJ) opportunties, including Bowl-a-Thon fundraisers and volunteer school programs. In March 2012, ten MSE employees completed a five-week volunteer program at James Johnson Elementary School in Cherry Hill, providing elementary school students with hands-on lessons in financial literacy. In June 2012, three MSE volunteers instructed a JA Day at Moorestown Upper Elementary School, providing a full day of finance- and economic-related activities.

JANJ is a non-profit organization that connects volunteers with students in grades K—12. Through its dedicated volunteer network, JANJ provides in-school and after-school programs that focus on business, citizenship, economics, entrepreneurship, ethics/character, financial literacy, and career development.

Employee Charity Fund

In 1987, an employee named Arnie Kahlenberg had a very big idea: Using a spare bookshelf just outside his office, Arnie displayed a small assortment of candy and snacks that he sold to his fellow employees, for just above cost. Arnie then took the proceeds from his sales and donated them to local charities. Over the course of a year, the little bit of money Arnie collected each day accumulated into enough to bring a touch of joy to many lives.

Through the many years that followed, as his charity fund grew, Arnie refused to be singled out for recognition for the far-reaching effects of his idea. He insisted that the effort be called the “Employee Charity Fund” because all MSE employees contribute to it. Arnie tirelessly devoted his time and energy to such activities as purchasing holiday gift cards for needy children, shopping for dinnerware and household items for shelters for battered women, and providing money for a program that gives underprivileged children a chance to vacation at the Jersey shore. He was also careful about selecting recipients for the money raised, researching local charities to determine which ones had the least administrative overhead so he could pass on the greatest portion of the donations to the people who really needed it.

Some of the charities supported by the Charity Fund include: Catholic Charities Emergency Community Services, One Accord/Kids Alley of Camden, Trenton-Area Soup Kitchen, Liberty USO, Ronald McDonald House, Burlington County Council, Samaritan Hospice, Cherry Hill Food and Outreach Council, Foster and Adoptive Family Services, Moorestown Visiting Nurses Association, World Impact, Children's Fresh Air Home, Crossroads, Habitat for Humanity (United Way Day of Caring), Arctic Slope Community Foundation, The American Cancer Society, and the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of America.

When Arnie passed away in 2002, the Employee Charity Fund was thriving, raising as much as $10,000 per year and providing aid to many local charities. Led by Angie Wittkamp, Jennifer Rabinowitz, and Marie Burke, MSE employees carry on Arnie’s work today, keeping his dream alive. From that small bookshelf, Arnie’s dream continues to reach out to improve the lives of those in need.

In January 2010, MSE launched a collaboration effort with Rowan University’s Department of Computer Science, awarding the university a contract to improve several of our offerings. The program, renewed through 2013 as part of MSE's corporate Innovation Campaign, provides hands-on engineering experience to graduate and undergraduate students who participate. The students perform analysis and software development for a variety of MSE tools and solutions.

The collaboration offers students the opportunity to work with MSE engineers on enhancing projects that are initially developed in Rowan’s Software Engineering class. Prototypes commence in the classroom setting and are based on proof-of-concept ideas provided by MSE. Final prototypes are evaluated by MSE at the end of each semester. Successful prototypes are then enhanced and completed by a team of students associated with the collaboration. Students work under requirements, and deadlines given by MSE project and collaboration leads. Final projects under the collaboration are also demonstrated at the deadline and installed in MSE’s Innovation Lab for MSE engineers to perform a series of acceptance tests. If needed, Rowan provides updated versions to address any issues or satisfy any other needs. MSE then integrates the deliverables with existing offerings or uses the deliverables as a basis for new offerings.

The MSE/Rowan collaboration agreement also provides MSE with an insight into what Rowan students are capable of producing, which presents MSE management with an excellent means of evaluating the students as potential candidates for hire. The students involved with the collaboration are also typically offered internships within MSE to provide them with more opportunities and to provide MSE with an insight as to how well they react in a professional environment.

MSE’s relationship with Rowan University fosters student interaction with industry leaders. It provides Computer Science students with “real-world” experience unlike any that is presented in a classroom environment. Our goal is for the success of this program to lead to future collaborative efforts and to bring fresh perspectives to our offerings and new approaches to application development.

For more information on MSE’s offerings, visit www.missionse.com/capabilities. You can learn more about Rowan University and its Department of Computer Science by visiting their web site at www.rowan.edu/cs.