“We encourage employees to make meaningful contributions in the community through organized workplace activities, mentoring in our schools, and volunteering in community projects and charitable campaigns. Pare supports these activities by providing flexible office hours, the use of facilities and materials, and by making direct financial contributions. We all benefit from supporting the community, and we receive a tremendous amount of fulfillment from helping others.”
Larry Riggs, Pare President
Professional Interests
DEI Committee
Pare’s DEI Committee is an advisory committee formed to research and make recommendations to company leadership regarding DEI issues internally. Topics of discussion and recommendation include communications, recruiting, and training/education.
Rising Professionals Committee
The Rising Professionals Committee is comprised of some of Pare’s newest employees and individuals in the early stages of their careers to share work and work-life concerns. The committee provides a forum for sharing ideas regarding career advancement and balancing work-life commitments. In addition to planning frequent company-wide social activities, they host a biannual “Technical Excellence Panel” which educates our employees about the skills and technical expertise of three members of the staff at each session.
Stormwater Practice Group
As so many of our projects encompass green stormwater management, we have created an interdisciplinary Stormwater Practice Group. The group encourages new knowledge and developing skillsets to provide a comprehensive understanding of best management practices regarding stormwater and resilience. This group also coordinates the Firm’s efforts to support municipal resilience planning/projects, grant funding applications in support of current projects, and stormwater crediting.
Professional Development
Professional Development is an important aspect of the Pare culture as a way for staff to gain new expertise and leadership skills. The firm holds corporate memberships in many professional organizations in which Pare employees are encouraged to engage in organizational activities. In addition, Pare employees are encouraged to take active roles in civic organizations. Pare also offers free online FE and PE courses through School of PE for our engineers pursuing professional licensing.
Engineers Week
National Engineers Week was started in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers to call attention to the contributions to society that engineers make. In addition to being observed by more than 70 engineering, education, & cultural societies and more than 50 corporations & government agencies, it is celebrated each year at Pare with a special luncheon.
Charitable
Giving Back
The spirit of philanthropy runs deep in the firm’s culture as employees are encouraged to positively impact their communities. In addition, Pare employees have been voluntarily fulfilling the holiday wish lists for the 70+ children in Boys Town New England’s foster care programs in Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts since 1996. It is unanimously considered one of the best times of year at Pare, as our office transforms into Santa’s workshop. Pare has also purchased turkeys for the Thanksgiving Meal Program for the last five years and supports Boys Town fundraisers and activities throughout the year. Pare was honored in 2014 by Boys Town New England with the “Spirit of Youth” award and in 2019 by the Rhode Island Monthly Magazine & Rhode Island Foundation with a 2019 Common Good Award which “recognizes Rhode Island businesses that inspire philanthropy in their employees around the state, not by writing a check to a worthy cause, but by encouraging staff to go into the community and help.”
Pare’s Got Your Back! Pare employees also give generously each year to another project to benefit Boys Town. Each August we deliver several dozen backpacks filled with school supplies for the children in the program. We hope to encourage a love of learning and perhaps even inspire a future engineer or scientist!
On August 27, 2022, Pare employees and friends joined in the efforts to recreate the largest single-day clean-up in American history and helped remove garbage, tires, car parts, and much more from the Blackstone River and its banks. The “ZAP the Blackstone” event celebrated its 50th anniversary, remembering when over 10,000 volunteers came to clean up the Blackstone River.
Educational
Volunteering and Mentoring
Volunteering and mentoring are important to the Pare culture. Throughout the year employees volunteer as mentors, teachers, and judges in a variety of activities, including engineering competitions, career fairs, and classroom presentations to help inspire the next generation of engineers. Pare has participated in the ACE (Architecture, Construction, and Engineering) Mentoring Program to encourage high school students to develop their interests into career opportunities.
Lunch and Learns
Continuing education and the sharing of “best practices” help the staff of Pare better serve clients and develop stronger projects. Pare leaders offer frequent lunchtime educational programs to disseminate information and share their years of industry experience.
Recreational
Extra-Curricular Sports
Whether initiating a company-wide fitness challenge or fielding company teams for soccer, bowling, softball, basketball and other leagues, the Pare family values teamwork outside the office as much as in it! A favorite event is the annual softball game in competition with another local engineering firm.
Social Activities
Pare employees love to come out for a good time, a good cause, and a good workout. Bowling is a popular activity as a way to give back. Most recently, the Rising Professionals Committee organized a friendly night of bowling to help raise money for St. Mary’s Home for Children. Read more about the event here.
Getting Outdoors
Many Pare employees feel that physical activity is a vital contributor to work performance. It is also a fun way to bring Pare staff together. From ski trips to marathons, getting outdoors to enjoy the natural beauty of the region is enjoyed by all! Every year, we host a golf outing in a 9-hole scramble format and invite our employees of all skill levels to come out, play, and enjoy each other’s company.
