Employees of a local technology company rolled up their sleeves outside the office on Tuesday.
LSI said it's on a mission to help the community and encourages others to do the same.

It was dinner time at the Daybreak Drop-in Center in Allentown on Tuesday.

"Roasted chicken, mashed potatoes green beans fruit salad and rolls, and looks like apple pie for dessert," said Tim Larney, assistant kitchen coordinator.

Daybreak is a program for people with mental illness, chemical dependency, the elderly and impoverished.

It's run by the Lehigh Valley Conference of Churches, but it has only two employees.

The hands that are cooking the meals are volunteers from LSI, a company that designs semiconductors and software.

"Volunteers are vital for us. We serve 24,000 meals a year here," said Ira Faro, Daybreak development senior director. "Without volunteers, we would have to hire more staff."

This is LSI's international volunteer week. About 2,000 employees across the area are giving of themselves. It's about 200 employees and 15 service projects in the Lehigh Valley.

LSI said it was connected with Daybreak through the Volunteer Center of the Lehigh Valley.

"For us, there is enough to do is that all we had to do is respond to an email and volunteer, and the rest is taken care of," said Ron Berman, LSI vice president of quality.

The volunteer center, Berman said, is a good place to start if you or your organization want to get involved. The bottom line, he said, is whatever you do, it will be appreciated.

"There are a number of opportunities you can contact with local community outreach groups. Local faith groups usually have associations with community involvement," said Berman.