Princess Cruises lends a helping hand

Employees gather to conduct summer community outreach

Princess Cruises employees have been busy this summer with their Summer Sizzle Series of community outreach here in Santa Clarita, including efforts to help the homeless and remove graffiti from public spaces.

“Part of our mission statement here is giving back to the community,” said Public Relations Specialist Alivia Owyoung. “Santa Clarita is our community. It’s where we’re based, so this is a way to give back and enrich our employees as well.”

The series kicked off with a charity drive June 10-28 for Family Promise, a nonprofit dedicated to serving local homeless families.

Employees were invited to donate household items, such as toiletries, cleaning supplies and kitchen accessories, throughout the month at donation bins that were placed in the lobbies

of all of the buildings on the Princess Cruises campus, according to Owyoung.

“There was a whole list of needs Family Promise had given us, including mostly household items (families) would need as they’re getting their lives back on track,” said Kelly O’Keefe, specialist for global projects. “Every day, bins were filling up and filling up — it was really neat to see the engagement.”

Various departments competed to see which could bring in the most items, and though the drive has concluded and the original donation was made, more items have continued trickling in and another donation will be made later this summer, O’Keefe said.

Employees then gathered again on Wednesday in partnership with the city of Santa Clarita to repaint a section of slope wall in the Santa Clara River bed as part of a graffiti removal project.

The Summer Sizzle Series will continue throughout the remainder of the summer with various community outreach opportunities for employees, which were chosen and “incentivized by passions,” O’Keefe added.

“Employees came together about things they were passionate about (to choose projects),” O’Keefe said. “The series is a way for employees to get out of the office and give back while boosting morale.”

Dan Watson/The Signal Princess Cruises employees paint a section of slope wall in the Santa Clara River bed on Wednesday.

(Right) City of Santa Clarita graffiti worker Kevin Ramos, left, opens a 5-gallon paint bucket as Princess Cruises employee Brittney Bush waits to paint on Wednesday.

Dan Watson/The Signal (Above) Princess Cruises employees Michelle Leslie, left, and Michele Anderson paint a section of slope wall in the Santa Clara River bed, as they help with a graffiti removal project, near Wiley Canyon Road, in Newhall.