This summer, OptiNose, a specialty pharmaceutical biotechnology company based in Yardley, hosted five interns. They were offered the opportunity to work with our experienced team on a variety of projects supporting development of biotech products. However, one of the most special assignments, both to our company and to our interns, was to collaborate on a summer Community Service Project.
Recognizing the good work of the United Way of Bucks County, we worked with the wonderful staff at the United Way office in Fairless Hills and decided to join the “Stuff the Bus” Back-to-School Supply Campaign. Thanks to the materials and guidance provided by United Way’s Director of Volunteer and Community Engagement, Danielle Bush, we were able to put our office program into place.
The interns worked diligently in between their other assigned projects to promote this fundraising effort within our office. They created flyers, sent e-mails, personally encouraged our staff, and even designed an artistic “school bus” for the collection of supplies and donations.
Fast-forward six weeks, add the generosity of our nearly 20 employees, and the drive was a success! Our interns were pleased to have the opportunity to deliver almost 300 back-to-school supply items with a value of approximately $900 to the United Way of Bucks County.
CEO Peter Miller, commenting on the success of the Stuff the Bus campaign at OptiNose, said “At our company we have a value of wanting to do good while doing good business. Our team was delighted to participate in this year’s United Way ‘Stuff the Bus’ Campaign. We feel a responsibility to do our part to improve the communities in which we live and work. We are grateful to our summer interns who organized the effort and galvanized our team to help contribute.”
OptiNose is developing breath-powered intranasal drug-delivery systems that improve drug delivery into the nasal cavity. The company is in various stages of research and development of new products that will treat diseases such as migraine, nasal inflammatory diseases, and brain diseases such as autism. To learn more, visit http://www.optinose.com/.
Stuff the Bus donations will be accepted at both UW Bucks locations until Wednesday, 8/20.
About the Contributor: Lorraine Sikora is the Director of Human Resources and Healthcare Compliance at OptiNose. She has served on several non-profit boards in Bucks County and was formerly Board President of the YWCA of Bucks County. For the past 14 years, Lorraine has been the Co-Founder & President of the Louis T. Savino, III Foundation, which funds AEDs and Lifesaving training for schools, camps and on athletic fields to prevent sudden cardiac death in youth. For more information, email Lorraine at Lorraine.sikora@optinose.com.