Local Business Gives Back During the Holidays

The holiday season is also about giving back to those in need, and one Chelmsford business takes that notion seriously.

Pro AV Systems, Inc., located on Billerica Road, employs experts on audio/visual integration systems with big hearts.

Company Owner and President Kimberly Bishop said this year, the company wanted to focus on helping local families who may not otherwise have a special holiday.

For Thanksgiving, employees got the idea to print out turkeys with the name of a food item. All the turkeys were put in the cafeteria refrigerator for employees to take and then bring in that food item to donate to a family in need. The food will be given to families in domestic violence situations in the Lowell area.

Pro AV Systems Marketing Director Adrienne Blasioli said she turkeys came off the refrigerator within minutes of her putting them up.

"It's just amazing," Bishop said. " ... So many women struggle around the holidays and it's a chance to have a good day. It's something a lot of us take for granted."

The company, which has been in Chelmsford since October but in operation since 2008, came to town because it outgrew its former space. Many of the employees live in Chelmsford and the company's clients include and Tyngsboro Public Schools.

"I think when you have a business that has success, (even) a little bit, you should give back," said Bishop.

Bishop said she was impressed to see many of her company's employees, many of which have spouses out of work and are dealing with a tough economy themselves, still stepped up to take a turkey and make a donation.

Pro AV Systems is no stranger to giving back during the holidays.  The company had a hand in making a 5-year-old Tyngsboro boy's dream of having a music room in his basement come true. The boy, who needed a heart transplant, had originally been denied by the Make a Wish Foundation, said David Bishop of Pro AV Systems.

The company has also collected items for care packages for the troops around the holidays.

Kimberly Bishop said she hopes a lot more local companies will follow their lead and give back to the community. If more companies did even a little bit to help, she said, it would make a big difference.

"If we all do some outreach to the local community and look at what we can give instead of the bottom line of making a profit, that's enough to help families in need," she said.

All of the Thanksgiving donations will be gathered tomorrow and dropped off to the organization in Lowell to be disseminated, Blasioli said.

"It makes you feel good about what you do," David Bishop said.