We introduced Orion Gives Back at the start of the new year, pledging to select a local non-profit each month to be the focus of our giving initiative. Thus far, we have donated approximately $7,000, over 2,500 items and volunteer time in support of these local non-profits.

Orion is proud to announce Youth Villages as the June focus of our Orion Gives Back program. Founded in 1986, Youth Villages is dedicated to helping emotionally and behaviorally troubled children and their families live successfully.lity, and you can too!

You can help by volunteering, donating, or simply telling others about what Literacy Mid-South does in the community. This is life-changing work, and we should all be involved

January marked the beginning of the program and what better place to start than the Mid-South Food Bank, an organization that for over 20 years has been working tirelessly to ensure that no Memphian will ever go hungry. Memphis Family Shelter was the February focus of the program. Memphis Family Shelter offers housing and support services to homeless mothers and their children as they work towards independent living. The program’s March focus was Literacy Mid-South. Their mission is to create a community actively engaged in continuous learning and they are working to have a 100 percent literate Mid-South. We were proud to announce the Memphis Farmers Market as the April focus of our program. Since 2006, Memphis Farmers Market has worked to improve public access to locally grown foods while educating the community on nutrition. Clovernook Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired was the May focus of our program. Clovernook’s mission is to empower people who are blind and visually impaired to be self-sufficient.

“At Orion, everything that we do and every decision we make is based upon the needs and interests of our members. We’re committed to our members and the communities we serve,” says President and CEO of Orion, Daniel Weickenand. “We know we can make the greatest impact in our community by giving back locally. That’s why we’re committed to supporting causes that are important to Memphians and using our locations to provide opportunities for our members and associates to give back.”

In conjunction with Orion Gives Back, desk top computers and laptops have been donated to the following local organizations: Seed House of Guidance, Church Outreach Leader, Literacy Mid-South, Memphis Area Boys & Girls Club, Tennessee Baptist Children’s Home, Memphis/Shelby County Schools, St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, Fayette County Schools and the Memphis Public Library.