SCHENECTADY — General Electric employees raised $20,000 for Northeast Parent & Child Society today as they walked and ran on all three Capital Region campuses.

As the 2008 Summer Olympics got under way in Beijing, more than 200 GE volunteers in three locations across the Capital Region participated in GE’s annual Walk for Education on Friday.
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Ten workers ran from the main plant in Schenectady to GE Global Research in Niskayuna, three miles away. They carried their own version of an Olympic torch in honor of the fact that GE is a sponsor of the Summer Olympics in Beijing. The rest of the nearly 200 participants walked three miles at their workplace.

Many employees said they agreed to help with the fundraiser because they enjoy running. But for some, it was personal.

“I come from a very poor background in India,” said Kapil Singh, who organized the event. “I can understand the manner — you get a feeling that life is not fair. If you can give someone a hand, you can reaise them up to the next level. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

Students from Northeast also joined in, saying they wanted to give back instead of just accepting help from their community.

“I try to volunteer every chance I can,” said Sydney Hulett, 18. “I like to give back to the community rather than sitting on a couch all day. You should do something that helps everyone, instead of just yourself.”

Northeast student Gracie Guilder, 16, added that she wanted to help raise money even though the funds will go toward the agency’s new Career Development Center, which she doesn’t ever plan to use.

“I’m going to go to college,” she explained, “but it helps other people who need to help. I like to do things like this.”

Northeast needs to raise $1.9 million to open the center. Earlier this week, the agency received a $750,000 state grant.

The center would be located on the first floor of the agency’s office building at 530 Franklin St. It would provide job training skills to high school dropouts and graduates who haven’t found a job but aren’t heading to college. The agency will train them in various occupations that do not require a college degree, including digital imaging, emergency medical services, construction and brownfield remediation.