Archive for the ‘Community Service’ Category

May 7, 2011

On May 7, 2011, V.F. McNeil will be walking for the first time in the 8^th Annual Shoreline Walkathon to benefit the Branford Community Dining Room.

Although we annually provide financial and volunteer support to the dining room, we have never participated in an event where almost our entire team is involved at once. We may even have a few surprise guests joining our team for the walk.

In the meantime, we are getting together t-shirts to help support the Community Dining Room, deliberating over a fun, and creative team name, encouraging others to get involved, and simply looking forward to the day.

If you would like information on how to join the walkathon your self visit  the registration page. 

We hope to see you there!!

Visit V.F. McNeil Insurance at 500 East Main Street, Branford, CT 06405 or call us today at (203) 481-2684.

April 1, 2011

8:00 am

In honor of our 125^th Anniversary, V.F. McNeil Insurance has made their first commitment to providing the Branford High School, located in Branford, Connecticut with an annual scholarship available to Branford High School seniors who fit the scholarship criteria. 

This year’s scholarship award will be in the amount of $500.00 and will be made available on the 2011 scholarship distribution list at the Branford High School.

V.F. McNeil is very excited about this commitment.  We are looking forward to the awards process and wish the best of luck to all applicants.

Visit V.F. McNeil Insurance today at  500 East Main St., Branford, CT 06405 or, give us a call at (203) 481-2684 for help with your business and/or personal insurance needs.

 

Celebrate our nation’s birthday safely and responsibly…

According to the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association), each July Fourth, thousands of people, most often children and teens, are injured while using consumer fireworks. Despite the dangers of fireworks, few people understand the associated risks - devastating burns, other injuries, fires, and even death, nor do they adhere to the state laws regarding consumer fireworks. See Fireworks – Illegal in Connecticut for information regarding our state.

The Alliance to Stop Consumer Fireworks is a group of health and safety organizations, coordinated by the NFPA, that urges the public to avoid the use of consumer fireworks and instead, to enjoy displays of fireworks conducted by trained professionals.  Here’s why…

Facts & figures

• In 2008, fireworks caused an estimated 22,500 reported fires, including 1,400 total structure fires, 500 vehicle fires, and 20,600 outside and other fires. These fires resulted in an estimated one civilian death, 40 civilian injuries and $42 million in direct property damage.
• In 2008, U.S. hospital emergency rooms treated an estimated 7,000 people for fireworks related injuries; 53% of 2008 emergency room fireworks-related injuries were to the extremities and 37% were to the head.
• The risk of fireworks injury was highest for teens ages 15-19 and children 5-9, both with at least two-and-a-half times the risk for the general population.
• On Independence Day in a typical year, far more U.S. fires are reported than on any other day, and fireworks account for more than half of those fires, more than any other cause of fires.

Backyard picnics on Fourth of July have been a tradition for many years.  However, when the confusion of a crowded backyard is commonly combined with alcoholic beverages and fireworks, the outcome could potentially be dangerous to all who are involved, especially children. 

In fact, even sparklers can cause serious injuries.  The tip of a sparkler burns at a temperature of more than 1200 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hot enough to cause third-degree burns. 

The good news is you can enjoy your holiday and the fireworks with out the risk of injury just by following the recommendations made by the NFPA: Leave fireworks to the professionals.  Attend a public display conducted by trained professionals and hold your backyard celebration before, after or on a different day than the public fireworks display. 

In addition, the National Council on Fireworks Safety urges families to read their latest press release about sparkler safety. http://www.fireworksafety.com/news_releases/national_council_on_firewor.pdf.

Enjoy your July 4th celebrations, but be safe and responsible!! 

It’s fire prevention week and the Branford Fire Department will be starting their educational presentations to the Branford Elementary and Nursery schools this afternoon.

As advocates for fire prevention and safety, V.F. McNeil helps the Branford Fire Department each year with fun, educational materials to distribute to the children at each different school. The kids get to bring home fun things like coloring books, fire hats, stickers, book marks and more.

Just this morning, Paul Sturgess, owner and President of the agency, dropped of a box off materials to Captain Joe Pertrosino to hand out to children during this week’s presentation at Taber Nursery, The Nursery at the First Congregational Church and Tisko, Mary T. Murphy and Sliney Elementary Schools.

Be sure to talk with your family today about fire prevention and safety!!

Connecticut News Release

For Release: March 17, 2009

It’s Fire Prevention Week. Preventing Home Fires is at the Forefront of Our Minds.

In honor of Fire Prevention Week, we have constructed a resource page on our website to provide viewers with important fire prevention and safety information.The theme of this years Fire Prevention Week is “Prevent Home Fires.” We feel as if this years theme is particularly important. With winter right around the corner, it’s imperative to recognize that the majority of residential fires occur during the winter months for a variety of reasons. Some of these reason include things such as, the return to home heating methods, the increase in cooking due to the holidays, the use of fireplaces, holiday decorations and burning candles.Many will most likely be seeking alternative home heating sources due to the current high cost of oil and energy. Although many of these heating sources are acceptable; it’s important to be aware of their dangers. It’s also important to be aware of how holiday decorating and cooking could potentially be hazardous to our safety.We hope that you could take just a few moments of your time to review this portion of our website and learn as much as you can about fire safety and prevention.For further convenience, we have also included other topics to our resource page. Visit us today to view Emergency/Disaster Planning and Preparation, Moving To Connecticut, and other Helpful Links.Simply log onto www.vfmcneil.com and click on the “Prevent Home Fires” logo to go directly to the Fire Safety web page. To view other topics, click on Resources and choose from the cascading menu.

V.F. McNeil Insurance Donates to the Branford Fire Department for Fire Prevention Week. Paul Sturgess, owner and President of V.F. McNeil Insurance delivers one thousand fire safety book marks to Captain Joe Petrosino of the Branford Fire Department.The Branford Fire Department will distribute the book marks along with other materials to each Branford Elementary School during their educational presentations for Fire Prevention Week. Each child may bring home their materials to use for handy fire prevention and safety tips and reminders. Captain Petrosino receiving bookmarks from Paul Sturgess