News

The newly formed community service group known as the Mullenteers is in New Orleans this week to help with ongoing rebuilding efforts in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The Mullenteers is a volunteer group sponsored by Mullen and created by agency employees to give their colleagues an opportunity to perform community service on both a local and national level. Thirty Mullen employees are traveling to New Orleans to work with an organization called Hands On New Orleans in a weeklong series of construction and cleanup projects. The Mullenteers are delivering a large collection of hand tools donated by Mullen’s client, the Stanley Works. The tools will be given to Hands On New Orleans for use in their ongoing rebuilding efforts.

The trip to New Orleans is the third major project the Mullenteers have taken on since organizing their group back in September. Previously they have worked with North Shore Elder Services, located near the agency’s Wenham, Massachusetts, headquarters, to deliver food to homebound senior citizens. They also worked with the Charles River Conservancy in a cleanup of the Charles River in Allston, Massachusetts, in October.

“Mullen is an entrepreneurial and creative culture and we want that energy to manifest itself in many ways. In this case it is about harnessing the power of our people to do good for others,” said Joe Grimaldi, chief executive officer of Mullen. “The creation of the Mullenteers was led by a group of conscientious and talented individuals who seized the opportunity we gave them to use the good fortune we have to make an impact in communities near and far. We’re very proud of what they have done and will do in the future to demonstrate Mullen’s commitment to giving back.”

The Mullenteers traveling party to New Orleans includes professionals from the agency’s Wenham and Detroit offices. Mullen is paying for the cost of their travel and their per diem while working in New Orleans. The volunteers will take on assignments based on their skill sets, which include painting, construction, plumbing and roofing. Some of the agency’s creatives will be painting murals in New Orleans to leave a lasting impression on the city.

The Stanley Works, a long-time Mullen client, has donated dozens of hand tools to help the Mullenteers and Hands-On New Orleans. This product list includes tape measures, hammers, levels, saw horses, tool boxes, pliers, power staplers, clamps, laser levelers, inflators and mechanics tool sets. The tools will be permanently donated to Hands On New Orleans once the Mullenteers project is complete.

The Mullenteers plan to continue their community service efforts in 2008 with another series of local projects and one major national effort on the scale of the New Orleans initiative.