Raeann Zuniga spent time volunteering at Casa Marianella and Posada Esperanza while studying at the University of Texas at Austin. Her and her spirit group, Texas Cowgirls, were eager to give back to their local community and they fell in love with Casa Marianella and its mission. They often volunteered at Posada Esperanza to facilitate events with the children such as Easter egg hunts, Halloween pumpkin painting, cupcake decorating, and even a healthy eating workshop.

Her previous experiences as a Casa Marianella and Posada Esperanza volunteer stuck with Raeann, even after she graduated from UT in 2018, and she carried them with her into her professional career. Now, as the Human Resources Associate at INTERA Incorporated, she realized that she could do more to help Casa Marianella and the people that they serve this holiday season.

INTERA Incorporated is a geoscience and engineering consulting firm headquartered here in Austin, Texas, and their vision is Innovation and Stewardship for a Sustainable Tomorrow. In order to keep working towards a sustainable tomorrow, INTERA and its employees recognize the need to give back to the communities in which they work and live. Particularly to our most vulnerable community members who are facing difficult socioeconomic hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic such as job and income loss, higher risk of infection, and a lack of federal financial assistance and insurance coverage.

Therefore, Raeann and some of her valued co-workers organized an internal fundraiser to benefit Casa Marianella so that they can continue to provide services to current and former residents, as well as the Austin immigrant communities at large. Employees were able to donate cash or their vacation hours which would then be converted into cash to be donated by INTERA. INTERA employees donated 200+ vacation hours to Casa Marianella, and INTERA’s President & CEO, Marsh Lavenue, made a matching contribution from the company.

As a company with employees from over 14 different countries around the world, INTERA knows that immigrants and refugees are an essential and integral part of our communities and that they need some extra help during these difficult times. Their hope is that their donation will ensure current and former Casa Marianella residents have a safe and warm holiday season.