Volunteering is part of the culture at TEP, helping us realize our vision of improving the quality of life in the communities we serve.
The impact of volunteering is both easy to see and hard to measure. By valuing each volunteer hour at $30-$35, the nonprofit advocate Independent Sector suggests that our employees’ 15,000-plus hours of volunteer time last year were worth more than $500,000.
For our employees, though, the real value is more personal. As we recognize National Volunteer Month, meet three active TEP volunteers who have made a positive impact on our community.
A father-daughter duo
When Doyace Wilson goes out to volunteer regularly, he often has a sidekick – his 16-year-old daughter.
After attending “schools with limited resources” as a child, he’s inspired by his own daughter and the lives of youth to give back. Now, much of his volunteer work is focused on education.
“I wish we didn’t punish kids for being poor,” Wilson said. “They don’t control those circumstances, and they deserve support when they need it.”
Kalyn, a junior at University High School, has been joining her father at volunteer events since she was a child and Wilson was in the U.S. Air Force. In that role, Wilson helped at food drives, Habitat for Humanity builds, and other community events.
Wilson retired from his military career while stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, then started at TEP in 2018.
When Kalyn was in elementary school, Wilson served on the school board for St. Michael’s School. But after joining TEP, he wanted a broader reach.
His TEP colleague, Ryan Anderson, invited Wilson to help at a shoe shopping event for the Educational Enrichment Foundation, an independent charity that supports Tucson Unified School District students and teachers. Six years ago, Wilson joined Anderson on the foundation’s board. He’s since held the vice president position, helped determine classroom grants, and served on the Legacy of Excellence Scholarship Committee, which gives scholarships to students in TUSD’s African American Student Services Department.
“It’s been a really good experience and we’ve been able to help a lot,” Wilson said.
Kalyn works as an intern for the Foundation, contributing to donor engagement through thank‑you notes, supporting fundraising event preparation, and organizing socks and books for shoe‑shopping events.
Together, the father-daughter duo also feed the homeless through the CCFS Foundation at Z Mansion, pack boxes at the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, and serve meals at the Ronald McDonald House.
On her own, Kalyn has joined with her classmates to form the MANOS club, a community service group.
“Volunteering together has been great for our relationship,” Wilson said. “It’s given me the chance to show her what empathy and kindness really look like in action, and we’ve made lasting memories. The people we’ve met along the way give me a lot of hope for our community.”
A lived experience
On any given weekend, Kathy Hackathorn packs boxes for the food bank or cooks up meals at the Ronald McDonald House, often bringing her relatives along to help.
She’s personally motivated to spend her free time this way: There have been times when she or her relatives have needed such services.
“It just feels super good to help people. It makes my heart feel good,” said Hackathorn, TEP CIP Engineering Compliance Analyst.
Earlier this year, Hackathorn was recognized for her exemplary volunteer service at the Southern Arizona Volunteer Management Association Awards breakfast.
One favorite activity is cooking and serving meals at the Ronald McDonald House. She enjoys interacting with the families staying there with their children.
For years, Hackathorn has brought along her relatives, including her daughter. Hackathorn actually met her future son-in-law for the first time at the Ronald McDonald House when her daughter brought him along while they were dating.
The couple never anticipated that they would end up using Ronald McDonald House’s services. When Hackathorn’s grandson was born prematurely, her daughter and son-in law stayed for 27 days and nights at the house to be closer to the hospital for day-long visits and nursing. The family was impressed by and truly appreciated the personal touches and camaraderie of the house, and that they didn’t need to think about anything but the baby and his needs. They even stepped up to volunteer with TEP while they were still staying there.
Her grandson, Statler, is now 3 and thriving, Hackathorn said.
Hackathorn plans all of her annual volunteer activities well in advance, checking TEP’s volunteer calendar and signing up for events a year at a time. “It’s easy. At TEP, it’s all set up for us. All I have to do is sign up and show up.” Hackathorn and her husband, Tom, especially enjoy helping the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, coming almost every month to food packing and distribution days.
In addition, Hackathorn previously judged awards for Southern Arizona Research, Science and Engineering Foundation Regional Science and Engineering Fair. She also has helped provide clothing for children from the Boys and Girls Clubs during the holidays and participated in the fundraising walks for the food bank and Ronald McDonald Charities.
“I feel like it’s important,” Hackathorn said about volunteering. “We have the time to give right now. It doesn’t hurt for us to get up on a Saturday morning and volunteer at doing something that could help make someone else’s day a little better.”
Youth development
As a Supervisor in Customer Care, Regina Rowden commits to serving others, both in and out of her job.
At work, she sponsors her department’s Volunteer Culture Club, in which colleagues organize department drives, promote community volunteer opportunities, support company-led events, and adopt local residents during the holidays. In her personal time, she gives back through various volunteer activities, mostly through her daughters’ sports.
Last year, Rowden reported more than 300 hours of volunteering, earning her a $500 donation through TEP’s Dollars for Doers program. Employees who volunteer a certain number of hours can earn contributions to nonprofit organizations of their choice.
“It makes me very proud to work for a company that supports volunteering,” Rowden said.
Rowden directed her Dollars for Doers donation to FC Tucson Youth Soccer, where her 15-year-old daughter, Zoe, plays.
Rowden started her involvement in sports and volunteering for her older daughter, who is now 20. Her younger daughter came along with everything they did.
Rowden is in her eighth year as the soccer team’s volunteer manager, which requires many hours of setting up travel for away games, booking hotel blocks, arranging carpools, helping with registration, and being generally available at practices.
“It definitely feels like a second job, for sure,” Rowden said. “I love doing it, and I like to make it fun, not just a soccer team.”
TEP’s donation goes toward team costs, including travel costs, referee fees and scholarships. Rowden makes sure that TEP’s support is on display with the company logo on cooling towels or shirts.
“Anyone who knows me or is involved in my daughter’s team sees our connection to TEP’s involvement in the community and it encourages them to get involved as well. The company supports us and our communities and they aren’t asking for anything in return,” Rowden.
Rowden also gets the soccer team players involved in the community, adopting families during the holidays, joining the Ronald McDonald House Walk for Kids, and filling bags for events for Emerge Center Against Domestic Abuse.
With her mother, Zoe also gets volunteer hours in for Student Council at Sabino High School, packing food or collecting donations at Winterhaven Festival of Lights for the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona.
For the holidays, Rowden recruited coworkers to support a great-grandmother who is caring for three great-grandchildren after a tragic loss, along with three other families through Interfaith Community Services.
Members of the Customer Care team personally delivered gifts to the great grandmother after Rowden called her ahead of time. “She said, ‘I didn’t know how I was going to do it,’” Regina said, referring to holiday gifts. “When I called her and said we would take care of it, it was a huge relief for her.”
