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, 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 21, 2011, MSE is sponsoring the USO Gala, a black-tie event held at the Loews Philadelphia Hotel. Celebrating 70 years of service to the US military, the Gala will honor a Service Member of the Year from each of the five branches of the Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard) and this year's Chairman's Award recipient, William Sasso, Chairman, Stradley Ronon Stevens and Young LLP, for his sustained and significant support to the Liberty USO and its mission. General (Ret.) and Mrs. George W. Casey, Jr., will receive the prestigious Liberty Award for their more than four decades of service to our nation and tireless support of service members and their families. An online auction will also be featured. Click here for details about the 70th USO Gala.

Each year in June, the United Way of Burlington County, New Jersey, holds a “Day of Caring” to assist several local charities. 2011 marked MSE’s 13th year of participating in the Day of Caring event, with a team of 13 MSE employees and their families joining forces to help Habitat for Humanity complete construction on a home in Burlington Township.

The house will be provided to Burlington County residents who lack adequate shelter. MSE workers installed sheetrock throughout the house and installed exterior siding to the back of the house. In addition, MSE was pleased to present a $500 check from our employees’ charity fund to help Habitat for Humanity with its very worthy efforts.

For several years, MSE has been a proud corporate sponsor of the American Cancer Society’s annual Bike-a-Thon, which took place last year on Sunday, July 10. For this, the 38th annual ride, a total of more than 4,200 cyclists made the 20- to 64-mile trek from Philadelphia to the Buena Vista Camping Park in Buena, New Jersey, to raise funds to fight cancer. 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.

MSE was proud once again to join our Lockheed Martin partner in its annual Junior Achievement of New Jersey (JANJ) Bowl-a-Thon event, which was held on June 30, 2011, at Laurel Lanes in Maple Shade, New Jersey. 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. Eighteen MSE employees joined our Lockheed Martin colleagues to raise funds in support of JANJ. MSE raised nearly $3000 for the cause. Altogether, almost $10,000 was raised at the event to help fund JANJ’s programs to benefit New Jersey’s youth.

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: Emergency Community Services Toy Drive, Kids Alley Toy Drive, Ronald McDonald House, Burlington County Times/Rotary Give-a-Christmas Fund, Samaritan Hospice, The Food Bank of South Jersey, World Impact, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, The Support our Troops Campaign, Crossroads, Liberty USO, Mercy House, Foster and Adoptive Family Services, Stepping Stones, 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.