|
We are halfway through the 2022 donor campaign season and can use everyone’s help in making 2022 a success. Donations are running behind the last couple of years, and we are hoping for a strong November to help catch up on donations. Your donations are used to create the cash appreciation gift given to only employees at grade level 10 and below.
I want to thank our sponsors for their support this year. They are listed on our website at https://vebf.org/ and information can be obtained by clicking on the sponsor logo to find out more. I hope you also visit and like our Village Employees Benefit Fund Facebook page.
A VEBF board member hands each employee their personal envelope with this year’s appreciation gift and told THANK YOU for a job well done. In addition, a personal card thanking them for their outstanding services from you the Village homeowners is given out. In this manner, the employees understand who provides the cash appreciation gift.
Again, if you have already made your donation this year – THANK YOU. If you haven’t, please mail your donation to VEBF P.O. Box 8503 Hot Springs Village, AR 71909 or visit our website and make a secure credit card donation by clicking on any of the donate buttons.
I want to wish everyone a SAFE and HAPPY THANKSGIVING.
D.C. Reed - President, VEBF
| |
|
"We are very fortunate to live in one of the most picturesque and well-preserved communities in the country. We take pride in calling Hot Springs Village home. We also have a stake in the future and success of the Village, including the people employed by the POA who work hard every day to make sure Hot Springs Village—from the East Gate to the West Gate and everywhere in between—is beautifully maintained.
The Village Employees Benefit Fund (VEBF), a non-profit volunteer group not associated with the POA, was founded in 1999 by Village residents to say, “Thank You” to approximately 450 non-executive employees for their service. When we have an ice storm, crippling snowstorm, fire, tornadoes, or some other emergency, their services are very visible. What isn’t so visible is their day-to-day effectiveness, even though our workers must do their jobs in heat, cold, and sometimes other dangerous conditions.
The VEBF distributes donated funds to POA Employees at their annual Christmas Luncheon with a thank you note from us, the residents, who deeply appreciate their dedicated performance throughout the year. NOTE: Executive Management is excluded from receiving donated funds.
In addition to the annual “Thank You” to all the employees, generous donations to the VEBF have helped employees during times of crisis in their personal lives, such as house fires, medical bills, and funeral expenses. While the amounts may not be large, the timing is critical for these employees, and they are always very appreciative.
Will you help make a difference?
Your donation will ensure that our POA employees are remembered this holiday season. You can mail your donation check to Village Employees Benefit Fund, P.O. Box 8503, Hot Springs Village, AR 71910 or donate via secure credit card, CLICK HERE.
Help us help those who serve our community!
| |
“My staff are extremely grateful to VEBF. I know this because I have heard them speak of it on several occasions. I recently asked a few staff how important the VBEF is to them, and they all spoke of it being a huge blessing at Christmas time. They spoke of how great it is to know they are recognized and appreciated by the community enough that members would donate monetarily to them. Having been a recipient to this gift in the past, I attest it is a great blessing and much appreciated. “– Charlie Brown, Compliance & Contract Management Director | | |
“I think the Village Employees Benefit fund is a great morale booster for the employees. The main reason is the gift comes from the members! This makes the staff feel appreciated by the membership after working hard all year long!” - Tom Heffer, Director of Golf |
| |
“On behalf of the men and women of the Hot Springs Village Police department we greatly appreciate the continuous dedication and support of the Village Employee Benefit Fund." - Chief Kristi Bennett | | |
“The POA employees are so blessed to have such wonderful residents that care and support the POA employees. I am totally blown away by your generosity to the employees during the Christmas season. As a 26-year veteran of the POA, I am truly blessed to work in a community of such caring residents. Your gifts have been the most helpful to my family through the years, and more so this year, due to the increase of gas, groceries, and everything! Thanks for caring for the POA employees!” - Brenda Cameron, Public Services |
| |
"Thank you Village residents for the annual cash gift. It makes a big difference in our lives." - Water & Sewer Division | |
“The Village Employee Benefit Fund has been a great morale booster for our Parks and Recreation Team. Nothing makes people take pride in their job more than knowing it is appreciated and noticed. The annual holiday cash gift and social is always looked forward to and everyone knows that Christmas is the perfect time of year! In addition, I have seen firsthand how the Emergency Fund Program has helped a valued team member in a time of need. Thank you for all you do!” - Terry Wiley, Director of Parks & Recreation | |
"We are so thankful for your annual cash donation. It is very appreciated." - Street Department | |
"Thank you all so very much for your donation! Your donations mak us feel special and important." - Sanitation Department | |
"Receiving the Year-End Appreciation Cash Gift from the Village Employees Benefit Fund is one of the most generous acts of kindness that I receive all year. These funds allow me to travel to see my family, make a payment toward my student loan debt, and purchase a gift for a loved one without being put in a financial bind during the holidays. Thank you for all the unselfish contributions to make this happen, not just for myself, but for all POA employees that deserve to feel appreciated for their hard work." - Katy Harmon, Senior Lakes Technician - Common Property, Forest, and Lakes | |
"We cannot thank the Hot Springs Village residents enough for their appreciation, support, and annual cash gift. Thank you!!" - Waste Water Treatment Plants Millcreek & Cedar Creek | |
"The money we get is such a blessing to allow families to buy groceries and take the stress off their family during the holidays. Lots of employees could not celebrate a good Christmas without the generosity of the Hot Springs Village residents through the VEBF." - Todd Noles, Common Property | |
"We appreciate you appreciating us! Thank you for your annual cash gift, support, and love." - Meter Reading Department | |
"Thank you so much for your support, appreciation, and annual gift." - Fleet Division | |
"Your annual appreciate cash gift is amazing and makes a difference in our lives." - Building Maintenance Department | |
|
WHY DONATE?
When you receive good service at a restaurant, you typically leave a 15% or 20% tip for the server. Maybe you have only been there an hour or so, but restaurant workers depend on tips to supplement their incomes. And most of us want to thank the server for his or her efforts on our behalf. We realize that our tip is meant exclusively for the worker, not the restaurant manager or owner.
The year-end cash appreciation gift from the VEBF to our POA workers, not the management, is for the same purpose: to thank the workers for their efforts for what they do day in and day out, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to make our community a beautiful and well-run place to live. The work performed by POA employees is the "meal" in our restaurant analogy, and your monthly POA assessment is the price of the meal. Your donation to the VEBF is the tip!
While the VEBF can’t give each worker a 20% tip, thanks to the generosity of our Fund members, we are able to help our workers pay an electric bill, make a car payment, or provide some nicer presents for their children at Christmastime... a very meaningful “thank you” for all their hard work and dedication.
The Village Employees Benefit Fund publishes a full-page ad in the Hot Springs Village Voice, listing the names of all the donors we have, thanking them for their contributions.
Click here to donate.
| |  |
|
NEW VEBF PROGRAM
The VEBF continuing education program is a Village Employees Benefit Fund Program that provides financial assistance to qualified POA employees so they may pursue educational opportunities in technical training, certification programs, and college level work related to employment at the HSVPOA. The program intent is to assist selected employees so they may expand their proficiency, augment expertise, and strength their skill sets; in doing so, better serve Hot Springs Village.
Find out more, click here.
EMERGENCY FUND
In addition to an annual gift, the Board has an emergency fund to be used at the Board’s discretion, to assist any POA worker who experiences financial difficulty as a result of a catastrophic personal emergency. Applications for help with expenses that POA workers might have because of a serious medical emergency, a death in the immediate family, or other personal tragedies, are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. While the Fund is probably not able to provide cash to cover all the costs of an emergency, the contribution enables the applicant to cover some expenses.
An application for emergency funds can be found on the "For POA Workers" page.
| |
“I’ve admired the work of the VEBF for years. Having worked more than 3 decades for the HSVPOA, it was the highlight of our year to be recognized from the community with a Christmas gift. Now working for Arvest Bank, an organization that is committed to community, it was a natural fit to support VEBF. I’m blessed to live and work in Hot Springs Village.” - Stephanie Heffer, Business & Community Relations Advisor | |
"DC asked me if I would lend my management and organizational skills to the VEBF which he had just joined. At the time we were both on the Balboa Yacht Club's board of directors. I felt it was the right thing to do and a good fit to assist in the fund to grow the reward for the employees as I had often thought about the conditions and the lively hood of our village workers." - Jeff Lloyd | | |
| |
“I support The Village Employees Benefit Fund because the life blood to any organization is its employees. Our Village employees work tirelessly to make Hot Springs Village beautiful and functional. It is important that we support the VEBF so that the hard-working POA staff feels the appreciation and love from our community during the times they need it most.” - Gwendolen “Wendy” Blair, Empire Financial Architects | |
|
Hot Springs Village Employees Benefit Fund was established on September 22, 1999, to receive and disburse appreciation funds contributed by the property owners of Hot Springs Village, Arkansas.
These funds are for the benefit and support of all qualified POA employees (excluding Top Management) as defined in the by-laws.
Our intent is to demonstrate the recognition, appreciation, and respect that our property owners and others have for all those who work to support and maintain Hot Springs Village.
| |
|
VEBF Board of Directors
Front row - John Chapman, Barbara Zavrel, Carol Freeland
Back Row - Ryan Bartholomew, Jeff Lloyd, DC Reed, Bill Luerssen
missing from the picture is Bettie Ann Salzwedel
| | | | |
