Blackstone-NEY Ultrasonics employees are pictured with Kelly Fiorella, Fund Development Coordinator for CASA of Chautauqua during a donation presentation. Top row, from left, are Ethan McGuffey-Goodwill, Dean Bennett, Michael Campbell, Rudy Mitchell, Milton Svetanics and Leon Reed. Bottom row, from left, are Tiffany Davis, Kathy Trask, Shari Jamieson, Andrew Graham, Richard Panebianco. Not Pictured are Patti Carlson, Joe Baglia, Seth Moss, Chris Hanson, Stephen Miniaci and John Helper. Submitted photo

Blackstone-NEY Ultrasonics’ recently held a penny wars fundraiser, with proceeds donated to CASA of Chautauqua County.

CASA will use the donation to help recruit, train and support more volunteers who will advocate for abused and neglected children in foster care.

“The employees at Blackstone-NEY Ultrasonics were very grateful for the opportunity to help local children through the CASA program,” said Rick Simon, director of manufacturing and quality at Blackstone-NEY Ultrasonics. “The company’s ‘Penny Wars’ event ultimately helped bring awareness to the benefits that CASA provides to children in need. It was exciting to see so many employees participate for such a great cause.”

All employees who participated in the fundraiser received health and wellness points that contributed to a deduction in their yearly health premiums. The winning team also enjoyed a breakfast catered by 3C’s Catering and got to choose which organization to donate the proceeds. Blackstone-NEY Ultrasonics employee and longtime CASA supporter, Shari Jamieson, spoke to staff about the impact CASA advocates have on local foster children and rallied coworkers to support CASA’s mission.