6 examples of good being done in Indianapolis

Tired of all the bad news you hear around the city, the country and the world? I’m happy to say there is a lot of good going on every week in the Indianapolis area.

Here are six cool things happening right here:

School surprise: On Friday, local tech company Salesforce warmed the hearts of teachers once again with a surprise gift and announcement at IPS School 51, 3426 Roosevelt Ave.

Children and staff cheered as Salesforce Marketing Cloud CEO Scott McCorkle announced a gift of 100 iPads and six MacBook computers, worth $50,000.

This is getting to be a regular thing for McCorkle, whose company recently gave $100,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of Indianapolis and another $100,000 to fulfill IPS teacher requests on DonorsChoose.org.

Salesforce adopted School 51 last spring as part of the IPS business alliance program and has already invested hundreds of volunteer hours in the school, which serves a low-income population.

“This is a very important part of our culture,”said McCorkle, explaining how the company uses the 1-1-1 model (1 percent of product, equity and time) to improve the community.

School Principal Jennifer Pearson said the company’s support is “like a dream.”

“This donation will allow us to put four new pieces of technology in every classroom,” she said, noting that the school had been equipped with just 60 working computers for its 500 students.

In addition to the financial donation, Salesforce, which employs 1,400 in Indianapolis, announced a commitment of 5,000 hours of employee volunteer time for the rest of the school year.

“That’s really the most important part of the announcement,” McCorkle said, “people actually spending time with and engaging students.”

Superheroes for Riley: Marion-based TCC, a Verizon Wireless retailer that operates a 100-person office in Carmel and retail outlets around the country, made a splash with a $1 million donation to benefit patients at Riley Hospital for Children at IU Health.

Local TCC and Riley employees dressed in superhero costumes and formed a human chain around the hospital Tuesday, symbolizing a hug for the 300,000 patient visits there each year.

Among projects to be funded is a new Rain Forest art and activity room for patients. TCC retail outlets around the country also will sell screen-cleaning cloths featuring artwork created by Riley Hospital kids. The cloths will sell for $10, all of which will be donated to the hospital.

Week of Caring:OneAmerica employees fanned out around the city last week, volunteering at six organizations in support of United Way. The 675 employees, half of the financial services company’s local workforce, took part in 12 volunteer projects in five days, working at Gleaners Food Bank, Horizon House, Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation, Volunteers of America and Bosma Enterprises.

“We all have a stake in our community,” said OneAmerica’s Scott Davison. “When people are educated, families are fed, kids are cared for and the homeless have help, it makes our city a better, more beautiful place to live.”

Growing and giving:Dow AgroSciences, through its Harvest for Hunger Garden and local community partners, is addressing hunger in its own backyard.

Over the past five months, the Northwestside company’s employees have grown, harvested and donated more than 1 ton of fresh fruits and vegetables for local community food pantries.

On Thursday, employees delivered the latest harvest to Crooked Creek Food Pantry, 6940 Michigan Road. The Harvest for Hunger Garden was developed in coordination with two employee-led groups — the Hunger Solutions Network and the Lawn and Landscape Club — to help tackle the local food insecurity problem.

Dow AgroSciences’ employees volunteer evenings and weekends to help maintain the garden and harvest the produce.

Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital telethon: On Tuesday, Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St.Vincent will partner with RTV6 for its second annual telethon, from 5:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

RTV6 will broadcast from the Northwestside hospital and feature special patient stories and guests, perhaps the former Indianapolis Colts quarterback himself. All funds raised will benefit patients and families. To donate, call (844) 4-PEYTON or visit stvincent.org/telethon.

“Live United”: Also coming up on local TV stations is “Live United,” a blending of local news anchors broadcasting in support of United Way of Central Indiana.

The Sept. 8 program (7:30 p.m.) will feature representatives from each of Indianapolis’ broadcast stations together on camera, speaking out for improving lives and communities through United Way. It will air simultaneously on each station.

During programming breaks, stations will feature stories of people who’ve benefited from United Way, as well as volunteers. The stories traditionally help launch United Way’s annual fundraising season. The public kickoff is Sept. 18 on Monument Circle.

Call Star reporter Maureen Gilmer at (317) 444-6879. Follow her on Twitter: @MaureenCGilmer.