Pioneers, a Volunteer Network

Bell statue dedicated by the Pioneers in 1949 at the Bell Telephone Building of Brantford. (Brantford Heritage Inventory, City of Brantford, Ontario)

Pioneers, a Volunteer Network, founded and more commonly known as the Telephone Pioneers of America, is a non-profit charitable organization based in Denver, Colorado in the United States. The association was organized in Boston in November 1911 by 246 pioneers active in the early days of telephony,[1] including Alexander Graham Bell who received membership card No. 1. The first elected president was Theodore N. Vail, president of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T).

As of 2009 the organization has grown to about 620,000 members, consisting primarily of actively employed and retired employees in the telecommunications industry, making it one of the world's largest corporate volunteer organizations.[2][3] Pioneers volunteer more than ten million hours annually responding to the individual needs of their communities throughout the United States and Canada. It is funded through company sponsors and public charitable donations. In the United States, the organization is registered as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

  1. ^ "History of the Telephone Pioneers of America". Bell Laboratories Record. 1 (3): 92. November 1925.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference Education-1999.Q4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Collier Youth Services Announces Honorees for 85th Anniversary Celebration Gala, Collier Youth Services, April 29, 2012.