Lesikar's Business Communication: Connecting in a Digital World 13th Edition by Kathryn Rentz,Paula Lentz

Exercise 30

You're part-time assistant to the office manager of a successful veterinary clinic with four locations in the greater _______ area (you pick the city). For some time now, the practice's three owners have been discussing making its contributions to the community more extensive and better organized. Animal hospitals in other cities feature their community service efforts on their websites and in their print literature, but thus far your company's contributions have been random and relatively sparse. The owners think it's time to create a focused, well-organized, appealing philanthropy and \ or employee volunteer program that will generate more positive publicity-and business-for the company.
They've asked your boss to review the literature on such programs and harvest useful information for them. They particularly want to know what kinds of programs other clinics have, the features of successful programs, and the business benefits of such programs.
Since you're a college student with good writing and research skills and free access to your university's extensive online resources, your boss asks if you'll tackle this task. You decide you'll start your research by consulting your library's resources on corporate philanthropy and on veterinary philanthropy in particular. You'll also look at the websites for the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, ServiceLeader.org, and the Points of Light Corporate Institute. (If your instructor directs, you may also interview an appropriate employee in a relevant business.) Once you believe you've found everything useful, you'll digest it, interpret it, and present the results in a well-organized, well-written report to the owners. Keep your report to about four pages, but be sure to include your sources so your readers can consult them if they want.