The Gift of Giving: Gloria Proulx and GYK Antler

 

Throughout her 33-year career at GYK Antler, Gloria Proulx has been dedicated to making a difference in her career and in the community. She has deftly balanced her professional life while also raising a family and volunteering for numerous causes. Throughout her career at GYK, she has worked as a production manager in various vertical markets including finance, healthcare, high tech, retail, education and tourism, and now serves as Culture and Operations Manager. As a key volunteer on the CASA Cares committee, Gloria collaborates with top notch GYK designer JoAnn Trahan to produce printed materials, from the invitation and signage to the evening’s beautiful program, for CASA’s largest fundraising event, CASA Cares.

Gloria is truly a gift to CASA of New Hampshire. She first learned about CASA 10 years ago, recalling when GYK’s creative director Elaine Krause provided design assistance for CASA’s 20^th Anniversary celebration at the Christa McAuliffe Planetarium.

“We pulled out all the stops and broke some rules in the process, but the end result was an inviting experience for CASA’s guests,” Gloria says.

The following spring, they were invited to attend the annual Fashion Show fundraiser, and Gloria was drawn into CASA’s dedicated team and mission — beginning her involvement on the program book committee with the support of GYK Antler. Today, Gloria lends her hand to committee-wide projects, serving as the program book chairman while assisting with event and printing logistics, ad sales, and wine donations.

Gloria’s commitment to giving back comes from her tremendous conviction that “we were put on this earth to serve.” She believes strongly in CASA’s mission.

“The CASA organization has a greater focus on the child – giving them a voice and reassurance in a complicated and sometimes long-enduring process,” Gloria says. “The fact that each child is assigned an advocate is even more admirable and critical in their well-being and safety.”

Gloria appreciates CASA’s unique ability to seek out passionate volunteers and train them to be effective advocates – something she feels is important to all non-profits.

“We all have passions and gifts that are just waiting to be put to good use – within or outside of our work environments,” Gloria says. “If more organizations were set up to identify and train willing community members to help execute their missions, the load would be lighter, more affordable, and more focused on the need.”

She also greatly respects CASA’s successful management of funds, noting the organization’s financial accountability and transparency.

In addition to her volunteer work with CASA, Gloria gives her time and passion to several other organizations. She is president of the Pinardville Lions Club; coordinator of the Children’s Lectionary Program at Ste. Marie Parish in Manchester, co-chairs the annual Easter Bunny Breakfast in her community and supports as many non-profit efforts as she is able – a favorite being “The Ginormous Climb” to benefit the Suffolk County Children’s Advocacy Center, with her daughter Halie, who just received her Master of Social Work from Boston College. Halie will begin her full-time career at the CAC in Boston – a choice that Gloria is extremely proud of.

Gloria attributes her volunteer “bug” to both her dad who served as an active volunteer with various organizations throughout his life, and to her own experiences participating in community-engaging events when Halie was a toddler. She recalls “crashing the PTA’s board meeting before they even began recruiting 1^st grade parents,” so she could get involved and help ensure those community traditions continued.

Gloria recently transitioned to a new position at GYK Antler as Culture and Operations Manager – a role that allows her to give back to her professional community and engage her colleagues in values critical to the mission of the company. GYK Antler President and CEO Travis York is deeply committed to retaining and supporting GYK employees, providing thoughtful opportunities for professional growth and community engagement. Travis encourages staff to become involved in any cause that inspires them.

“When CASA was brought to the forefront, Travis understood their need and our team’s passion for what CASA does and welcomed the opportunity to stay part of such a worthy organization,” Gloria says.

In fact, GYK Antler has supported numerous non-profit organizations over the years, more recently: Rock On Foundation, Special Olympics, Stay Work Play New Hampshire, NH Food Bank, CHaD, Manchester Historic Association, DCYF, NH Institute of Art, Big Brothers Big Sisters and The Salvation Army.

Both Gloria and GYK Antler continue to pay it forward through their philanthropic and service efforts to CASA.

“As much as CASA’s existence relies on great leadership, staff, and volunteer advocates, it is the broader community’s generosity, participation, awareness and prioritization of CASA’s unique mission that will help them continue to meet the need, especially with the current opioid crisis,” Gloria says. “I once heard someone say: ‘If you see it, you are responsible for it.’ That is the motto I try to I live by.”