WASHINGTON--Evelyn Reveron Hill's Spanish-speaking
skills have served her well in her 23 years as a
sales executive with Xerox Corporation.
But this year, her Hispanic heritage is proving
more vital than ever.
Reveron Hill, 52, is in her eighth month of a
paid, one-year leave from Xerox to volunteer
full-time with My Sister's Place - a Washington,
D.C., organization providing services to battered
women and their children since 1979.
Casa Gabriela Mistral, part of My Sister's Place,
is a shelter specifically for immigrant women - many
of whom are Hispanic - and Reveron Hill is combining
her business and language skills to help these women
build stronger lives.
"I know how difficult it can be for Hispanic
immigrant women to break free of the violence and
abuse they sometimes suffer at home," says Reveron
Hill, who is of Puerto Rican descent.
With little command of English or the skills to
help seek employment, it's often challenging for the
women of Casa Gabriela Mistral to find meaningful
work, Reveron Hill says. As part of her yearlong
project, "I'm working to bring together all the
resources available to Hispanic women in D.C. to
help them get jobs." Described by her colleagues as
"a real fire-starter," she's been busy working with
the Latino Affairs Department in the city and
various Latino organizations to help women gain
employment in their communities.
During her tenure with My Sister's Place she will
conduct domestic violence awareness workshops at
area corporations, and create a job resource guide
for use by all the women in their journey out of the
shelter and into a life of independence. She also is
teaching women how to operate computers. How to
develop a resume. How to write a job application.
How to participate in a job interview. How to create
a financial plan. And, she's inviting speakers from
different industries, including the typically
male-dominated industry of auto repair, to speak to
the women about different career options.
"When we work with the women and expose them to the
different possibilities available to them, you can
just see their self-esteem elevating," she reflects.
"They need so much, and I'm passionate about 'giving
back' to my community and really making a
difference."
My Sister's Place works in partnership with
community-based organizations to provide its
services, which include shelter, transitional
housing, education and counseling. Reveron Hill also
recently assisted in soliciting corporate
sponsorships to help raise more than $130,000 as
part of an annual fund-raiser.
Xerox, based in Stamford, Conn., granted Reveron
Hill's leave under the company's Social Service
Leave program, believed the oldest program of its
kind in American business. Xerox began Social
Service Leaves in 1971 to foster employee
involvement and provide special volunteer assistance
in communities where Xerox does business. Since
then, more than 450 fully paid leaves have been
granted to employees, who design projects of their
own choosing.
Reveron Hill is one of nine employees nationwide
selected for the 2004 program. At Xerox, she sells
Xerox products and services to major corporations in
the Washington, D.C., area.
In addition to Social Service Leave, other
programs from Xerox and The Xerox Foundation that
touch the Hispanic community include:
-- The Xerox Hispanic College Liaison Program,
designed to help support and increase the number of
Hispanics in engineering/technical fields by
providing grants and other financial resources.
-- The Xerox Technical Minority Scholarship
Program, through which Xerox offers 150 $1,000
scholarships annually to minority students pursuing
degrees in technical disciplines.
-- Support for several external organizations
such as the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, National
Council of LaRaza, Society of Hispanic Professional
Engineers, Thalia Spanish Theatre, and INROADS, an
international organization that prepares minority
students for future corporate and community
leadership.
-- Xerox also recruits and builds relationships
with diverse business partners through a robust
supplier diversity program.
Customer Contact:
For more information about Xerox and social
responsibility, visit
www.xerox.com/csr.
For more information about Xerox, visit
www.xerox.com/news.
Contacts:
Karen Arena for Xerox
732-656-7861
arenak@aol.com
or
Xerox Corporation
Kara Choquette, 303-796-6420
kara.choquette@xerox.com