SRP Employees Volunteer Close to 30,000 hours and Earn about $100,000 for Nonprofit Agencies through ‘Dollars for Doers’ Program

When Kristofer Kautz, who resides in Peoria, isn’t working to help SRP customers as a senior customer service specialist, he loves to donate his time to the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Central and Northern Arizona. Before COVID-19, he spent many hours working as a house volunteer.

“This charity means a lot to me,” said Kris Kautz, SRP employee and Dollars for Doers volunteer. “After my cousin, Dezerey lost her battle with breast cancer at only 25 years old, I wanted to do something to keep her memory alive. I chose to follow in her footsteps as a Ronald McDonald House Charities volunteer. I cleaned and prepared rooms for families, stocked the community pantry and assisted with fundraising events. I still am doing what I can virtually by participating in their Love Notes program, which allows volunteers to send notes of hope and support to the families staying at the Ronald McDonald Houses.”

Salt River Project employees are known in the community for being some of the best, most consistent and loyal volunteers in the Valley. Once again, SRP employees gave of their time and turned volunteer hours into much-needed funds for the nonprofit organizations they assist through the SRP Dollars for Doers program. 

“We are pleased to share that in 2019, 180 SRP employees volunteered 29,654 hours at 149 nonprofit agencies, which resulted in $99,500 in grants to those respective organizations,” said Andrea Moreno, SRP’s manager of Community Outreach. “Even amid the pandemic, our employees continue to give back by finding at-home opportunities such as writing cards of affirmation, letters of encouragement and clipping magazines for Free Arts for Abused Children, among so many other ways.”

SRP’s Dollars for Doers program contributes funds, ranging from $250 to $1,000, directly to community nonprofits based upon the number of volunteer hours donated during the calendar year by SRP employees. The grant program is designed to provide funding to nonprofit agencies that are also supported by the volunteer efforts of SRP employees.

“Dollars for Doers is a great program and a way to assist organizations with grants for simply donating time,” said Kautz. “What keeps me coming back is knowing that most people find themselves in need at some point in their lives. Today I am able to help by volunteering, but tomorrow I may be the recipient of someone else’s volunteer efforts. I feel I am making a small impact in the lives of those families that are going through difficult times.”

SRP employees contributed to the community in a number of ways, including:

• coaching youth football, baseball, soccer and swimming,
• providing children with special needs horse therapy rides,
• ushering during arts and cultural events,
• preparing meals for those in need,
• mentoring and providing leadership to youth
• serving on local nonprofit boards and
• assisting schools through parent-teacher organizations and booster clubs

“SOUNDS Academy provides music education to students in the Phoenix metro area. As a beneficiary we thank SRP employees for helping us to put instruments into the hands of students, introduce students to unique musical experiences, and teach creativity, leadership, perseverance, resilience and teamwork through music education,” said Kirk Johnson, founder, chief executive officer and teaching artist of SOUNDS Academy. “With the continued support of companies and employees like SRP, we can unlock the lifelong potential of children through music education.”

 “It makes me feel good to volunteer my time and to help in any way I can. Volunteering is something everyone should do and SRP is great company to work for,” Kautz said. “In my 20 years with SRP, I have seen many changes, but the one thing that does not change is the family culture. We stick together through the good and the bad, which says a lot given our current situation.”