SZW’s “Casual Day Project” Delivers Christmas Cheer for Two Utica Families

Utica MHA and SZW loading the Christmas cheer

“It’s a great feeling when we see what our Casual Day Project does for local people during the Holiday Season.” That’s what our claims manager and Casual Day coordinator, Cathy LeTray, said after this year’s project.

Teaming up with our friends at the Utica Municipal Housing Authority (UMHA), this year’s project was our biggest yet. And best of all, we helped two families with a full truck load of gifts.

But before we tell you about that, a little about the Scalzo, Zogby & Wittig Casual Day project. Every month we collect $5.00 from each employee. In return, they get the privilege of wearing jeans on Fridays. Everyone’s in, including our head honchos, Steve Zogby and Gary Scalzo.

At the end of the year, we donate the pot to a deserving local non-profit. And we’ve been doing this since 2004. Last year we called on the Mohawk Valley Community Action center to help us. They directed us to a family forced out of their home because of a code violation.

A few years before that, we did a room makeover for the after-school program at the Neighborhood Center. We updated and made slipcovers for the furniture, purchased some toys, rugs, a television, and book cases. The kids and parents loved it. In fact, the parents were so appreciative that they cooked us a fantastic meal to celebrate the new room.

So this year the UMHA told us about two residents who were working but having a tough time making ends meet. With a little extra money generously donated by Steve and Gary, we purchased enough to fill a Housing Authority truck.

One of the families has a little boy, so they will be delighted to get a sofa, love seat, and toddler bed and mattress. Also a new dresser, dining room table, and dishes, pots, and pans for the kitchen. Of course, we included toys for the little guy, too!

The other family needed furniture so we went with a dining room table, dresser, bedding for all the kids, and other household items. Don’t worry, the kids got toys there, too.

The Utica Municipal Housing Authority has been terrific to work with and we applaud their service to the community. They provide safe, clean, and affordable housing to Uticans with lower incomes. But that’s not all…they also promote self-sufficiency and upward mobility for their residents.

We are grateful that this year is our most successful holiday project ever. Our stocking hats are off to the UMHA this Christmas and we thank them for the opportunity and everything they do for our community.

The best part is providing Christmas cheer to some fellow Central New Yorkers who needed a little help. We wish we could be there to see their faces Christmas morning!

This is a good time to thank all of our clients for doing business with us and wishing them, their family, and all of Central New York a Very Merry Christmas!

Until next time,
Your SZW Team

Scalzo, Zogby & Wittig, Inc. is your New Hartford area independent insurance agent. Call us for a quote on insurance for your home, car, business, or life at 315.792.0000. Or request a quote here.