Indium in the Community
Indium Corporation is proud of its activity in the community. Our involvement includes volunteering, participating, or sponsoring many charitable events and organizations.
Below are some of the community events that Indium has been involved with.
Special Olympics World Games
above: Indium Pilots John Ferriter and Charles Valuckas pause for a photo of athletes and their families prior to departing for Ames, Iowa.
The Indium Corporation supported the Special Olympics World Summer Games by donating the use of their corporate aircraft and crew for athlete transportation purposes. The Special Olympics World Summer Games were held in Ames, Iowa. As a member of the Cessna Citation Special Olympics Airlift, Indium Corporation donated the use of their aircraft and crew to transport Special Olympians to and from Iowa. Getting the 1,500 athletes to Iowa, from all across the USA, required a unique and rewarding effort - an effort that is known as THE SPECIAL OLYMPICS AIRLIFT. Flying this many athletes from across the continent into one city on one day (and back home again - in one day) requires an extremely-well coordinated effort, and a group of very gracious volunteers. The Cessna Corporation (makers of business jets) coordinated 235 volunteer Cessna Citations and got all the athletes to and from the games successfully.
According to Charles Valuckas, Indium's Flight Department Manager and Chief Pilot, "We were excited to be a part of this humanitarian event. It was strictly a donation on the part of Indium, intended to support this great cause."
The Indium aircraft has previously been tapped to transport organ transplant emergencies. It is normally used to support Indium Corporation business.
"Our flight department is extremely busy with Indium Corporation business applications. We happily made this exception in our scheduling to serve a very worthy cause," said Rick Short, Indium's Director of Corporate Communications.
Further details can be found at:
Cessna Special Olympics Airlift: cessna.com
Special Olympics: specialolympics.org
The Boilermaker
Indium Corporation is located in the heart of Central New York, USA, the home to the second largest 15 kilometer foot race in the world, and the largest in North America. The Boilermaker hosts approximately 10,000 runners, and over 30,000 spectators from around the world.
The Boilermaker is one of the top 100 road races in the United States. Indium Corporation is proud of its runners and volunteers in this great community event.
Back row: Tim Jensen, Jim Slattery, Andy Brefka, Ernest Brown, Chuck Valuckas, and Bill Macartney.
Front row: Todd Truitt, Greg Evans, Jeff Anweiler, Bill Manning, Geoff Beckwith, Mike Dunn, and Brad Anderson.
Check out the Boilermaker web site at boilermaker.com.
Another Successful 'Ride for Missing Children'
Indium teammates Anita Brown, Ivan Castellanos, Pat Ryan, Ed Gudlauski, and Greg Evans celebrate after completing another 'The Ride for Missing Children'.
'The Ride for Missing Children' has been held annually for 12 years to create awareness about the plight of missing and exploited children and the need for safety education of our children. 100% of the funds raised by the riders go toward paying for posters to help find children who are missing or abducted. Over 350 riders participated in this 110-mile ride that starts in Oneida, NY, USA and ends in New Hartford, NY. The riders visit 6 schools meeting hundreds of school children to teach them about safety and abduction prevention. The event raised money to purchase over 650,000 posters to help in the search for missing and exploited children. The mission: To keep our children safe, one child at a time.
CHAIRity to support Sculpture Space
Indium Corporation participated in the 15th Annual CHAIRity to support Sculpture Space. 300 members of our local community turned out to help create the most successful fund raiser in the organization’s history.
More information can be found at www.sculpturespace.org.
The holiday season brings out the best in many people
The holiday season brings out the best in many people. It also reminds us that there are people in this world who can use a little help on occasion. Indium’s Ivan Castellanos, a Technical Sales Engineer based in Mexico, and his girlfriend Karen, put it all together and organized a Christmas party for approximately 100 homeless children in Guadalajara.
Ivan shared that, “It was so great to be able to do this for those little ones. Their faces were full of happiness.”
Great job, Ivan and Karen!
Snowfari
The Indium Corporation is a proud sponsor of this annual winter festival. Snowfari is a celebration of the recreational paradise that is Central New York. Our volunteers support events such as: the Human Dog Sled Race, the Cardboard Sled Race, Extreme Mountain Bike-Cross, the Four Person Winter Relay Race, amateur Freestyle Aerials Competition, and Slalom Ski and Snowboard races. Exciting demonstration events include a Freestyle Skiing Extravaganza. In addition to volunteering, several Indium employees compete in the events. If you like winter, you’ll love Snowfari.
Snowfari Web Site: snowfari.com
America’s Greatest Heart Run & Walk
Central New York is renowned for its charitable nature. Utica's major fund raiser for the AHA raises a record $1,000,000 per year - with the help of about 40 Indium volunteers and their family members.
This kind of community support is exactly why we love the Central New York region. We’re proud of our town - and of the Indium people who devote their time to help others.
Community Technology Fair
Local technology teachers developed an event designed to promote the values of a career in technology.
Middle school students were challenged to build gravity-powered vehicles that competed in various races: fastest time in the straight downhill and slalom downhill, and slowest time in the straight downhill.
In addition to sponsoring a team, we also set up an exhibit depicting the role technologists play at ICA. Students from several area schools, and their families, enjoyed the event.
