“We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.”

We believe in consistently striving to create value and improve the communities where our teams live and operate, which is why we understand the importance of discovering new and impactful ways to give back. Through our charitable organization the IDEX Foundation, we donated over $281,000 to various organizations and causes near our facilities in 2022— and over $700,000 total since the foundation was established.

In 2023 our charitable efforts continue, and our sites participated in the following volunteer and donation activities:

IDEX Health & Science Application Scientist, Elizabeth Bernhardt, PhD, has been volunteering with the Skype a Scientist program for the last 5+ years. Elizabeth says: “I wanted to share my passion for science and help answer career related questions I didn't get answers to in high school.”

Skype a Scientist is a free educational service available for teachers who sign up and select specific topics of interests. They are then matched with a scientist in that field. The volunteer scientist is then able to schedule time with a class and let the educator know what their field of expertise is. From there, volunteer scientists video chat in with a class and any and all questions. One of her recent classes even sent her a whole batch of homemade thank you cards.

“I find older kids want to know about careers, schools, higher education, [etc]. Younger kids [who] just want to know about anything they have heard about ever. And EVERYONE wants to know why I became a scientist.”

Topics can range from: “from optical filters to the heat death of the universe, and I also make sure to wedge in that scientists need to be well-rounded. Stay open-minded and don’t limit yourself.”

Click Here to Learn More about Skype a Scientist

Members of the IDEX Health & Science Life Science Optics team volunteered at the Special Olympics NY Super Regional Basketball Event for the second year in a row. Ahead of time, volunteers made motivational posters at our facility in Rochester, NY, and during the event volunteers assisted with set up, registration, score keeping, skills support, lunch set up and distribution, were fans in the stands, handed out awards, and helped dissemble the event at the end of the day.

Special thank you to all of our volunteers for their participation including: Lorie Pfaff, Karen Barry, Jeremy Grace, Alex Hong, Shaka Dozier, Jake Trout, Dre Hamilton, Tahj Jones.

In addition to a $5,000 IDEX Foundation Donation, the Life Science Optics team participated in our third annual Mt. Hope Family Center drive for their Building Healthy Children Program. Over 125 items were donated to help with the program’s goal of helping young mothers succeed by providing tools to create healthy families.

Click Here to Learn More

In March, employees from Bristol, CT volunteered to make posters and cheer on Special Olympics participants. “Whether it was making posters, parking cars at the winter games, or cheering on the athletes; the staff showed up and helped. I think the volunteers got as much out of the experience as the athletes did. James Christensen, Senior Manager/Site Leader, was inspired by one of the mothers of the athletes, and he told us a very touching story for International Women’s Day about a mother’s strength and how she and her special needs son never give up. I’m thankful for the IDEX Foundation donation, and looking to building this partnership,” said Irene Childs, Senior Generalist Human Resources, in Bristol.

The IDEX foundation donated $9,750 to the Connecticut Special Olympics, and employees had a t-shirt fundraiser. Employees also volunteered at the 2022 winter games and participated in a golf fundraiser last summer to benefit the Special Olympics of Connecticut.

Learn more about the Connecticut Special Olympics

Our team in Oak Harbor, WA participated in two community service events with Summit Assistance Dogs. The IDEX Foundation also donated $7,500.

During the first activity, employees trained the dogs on-site at IDEX Health & Science to help expose them to people, situations, and sounds. The goal of these training sessions was to help assistance dogs remain calm in public situations.

The employees also participated in Saturday volunteer days at Summit Assistance Dogs and performed a variety of tasks. They cleaned outdoor areas and installed insulation in a new building that will be used for housing, grooming, and socializing the dogs. Additional volunteer days and puppy visits are being scheduled in 2023.

Summit Assistance Dogs is a nonprofit organization that creates life-changing partnerships by providing highly-skilled mobility service dogs for people living with disabilities in the Pacific Northwest.

George Gilmore, New Product Introduction Lead Data Engineer for IDEX Health & Science, hosts weekly STEM classes at the Boys & Girls Club of Rochester. George sets up activities throughout the year that focus on various STEM topics. “For the past several weeks we have been building various Lego Technics kits. Each kit focuses on different mechanical properties, which we explore during the builds.” Upcoming sessions, with assistance from additional IDEX Health & Science volunteers, will be focused on on circuits (using circuit board kits) and/or gravity and energy (using these roller coaster kits and catapults).

IDEX Health & Science Life Science Optics volunteers made inspirational posters and attended the Special Olympics New York Figure Skating event to cheer on participants last month. Lorie Pfaff noted: “The skaters remembered us [from volunteering last year] and were thrilled to see us and the posters. [They] especially loved the special little toys and snacks we brought. The posters were fabulous and looked so good all around the rink. They will take them to their STATE Competition in Syracuse next weekend.”

Special thank you to Karen Barry, Dee Wilson, Lorie Pfaff, and Alex Hong for attending the Figure Skating event in person to cheer on these Special Olympians!

Learn More about our Special Olympic Volunteer Events from 2022

Members of the IDEX Health & Science Life Science Optics Marketing Team volunteered this winter at Lollypop Farm’s Doggy Day Out Program. The Doggy Day Out Program allows volunteers to spoil a pet looking for a forever home with individualized attention, help them work on their social skills, and give them a little peace and quiet. Our volunteers took their Lollypop Farms residents out for long walks, played fetch, and helped spread the word of said pet’s availability on social media.

No appointments are necessary to volunteer.

Click here to learn more about Lollypop Farm’s Doggy Day Out Program