Cable network Destination America will host Fourth of July celebrations this weekend in the communities of Waveland, Miss., and Oroville, Calif., which were selected from a pool of 2,600 entrants in the network's third annual Red, White and You contest.

The network created the holiday-linked public service initiative in 2013 as its contribution to Discovery Impact, Discovery Communications's corporate social responsibility program, which challenged each of the programmer's networks to come up with their own community service efforts.

For both communities the weekend will mark the return of Independence Day fireworks following years of difficulties.

Waveland is a Gulf Coast beach town that just barely survived 1969's Hurricane Camille (which Southerners along the coast still speak about in hushed tones) only to become the ground zero of 2005's Hurricane Katrina.

Ten years later, Waveland, with a population of less than 6,500, is still recovering from the devastating storm, having just reopened its iconic pier on June 20. The Waveland Police Department said it was preparing for a crowd of 15,000 to 30,000 people for the $50,000 July 4th spectacular, according to local news reports.

"I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of rebuilding since Katrina than to have this celebration,” said Mayor Mike Smith of Waveland. "Our people are very resilient, but this will help in the healing process."

Oroville, dubbed the City of Gold for its role during the California Gold Rush, today is one of the leading water sources for the entire state but is at only 44% capacity, according to a photo essay at the San Francisco Chronicle's website. With the still ongoing statewide drought and other local economic challenges, fireworks traditionally displayed from atop the Oroville Dam have been canceled the last several summers.

Destination America's Red, White and You initiative will restore that grand tradition in the seat of Butte County, where personal possession and use of fireworks are banned outside the city limits, in unincorporated areas of the county, according to the local Gridley Herald.

"[T]he California drought has been difficult for everyone, including us," said Oroville Mayor Linda Dahlmeier. "This 4th of July celebration will encourage our community and remind us of our rich history.”

The two communities' "stories of recovery and resilience" piqued the network's interest, Marc Etkind, Destination America GM, said, adding, "[T]heir incredible display of hometown pride and American spirit are what makes them especially deserving."

Communities that have won the Destination America contest in the past include 2014 grand prize winners Prescott, Ariz., a town still recovering from the wildfires that claimed the lives of 19 firefighters, and Hamtramck, Mich., a city making a comeback from economic hard times. The inaugural 2013 winners were Union Beach, N.J., a Jersey Shore town hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, and Fayetteville, N.C., a community that enthusiastically supports its military partners at Fort Bragg.

“Independence Day is a time to bring communities together," Etkind said, "and Destination America is privileged to support these towns as they honor their pasts while working hard to ensure a bright future.”

Destination America launched this year's contest in March. The winning submissions came from residents of each community; they are reprinted below.

Waveland, Miss. – Nominated by Donna Estopinal
It's been almost 10 years since Hurricane Katrina attacked Waveland, MS leaving our beautiful city in ruins.  She did not attack a few, the entire city was affected.  Not only did she put people out of work, she also put them out of their homes.  Many people were forced to move away leaving their dreams behind to start over somewhere else.  Those who stayed were determined to rebuild not just their homes but our beautiful city as well.  Waveland is coming back stronger and better than before.  Our pier will be open soon, our veterans' memorial is more beautiful than before and on and on.  We are recovering and moving forward slow but sure.  Everyone in the City of Waveland works hard everyday.  What better place to show off our determination in rebuilding than Waveland, Ms by having a "Red, White and You" celebration, fireworks and all!

Oroville, Calif. – Nominated by Deliah Robison
Oroville, CA deserves a wonderful 4th of July celebration. Oroville, named the City of Gold, is a historical point for the gold rush. Oroville is home to one of the largest dams. Many retired military Veterans reside here. It means a lot to those families and their community to celebrate and remember what their service was for. In the past, our town hosted a large fireworks show from the dam, but the costs have become too high in many previous years. Last year, they ran many fundraisers to host the fireworks show. It would mean a lot to our town to be able to celebrate without cutting back or having to run numerous fundraisers. We have many access points and can even host neighboring towns by opening our state parks and marinas for more places to watch the fireworks. Please consider our town.

Six years ago Discovery Communications set out to make over its approach to corporate social responsibility. The result, its Discovery Impact program, today runs seven core initiatives all built around grassroots employee volunteerism.

Discovery Impact leverages a network of team captains across the company’s business units to support those core initiatives, which include a disaster response and rebuilding program, educational campaigns and Creating Change, one of the six public-service projects selected for Multichannel News’s inaugural #CableInTheCommunity spotlight.

Creating Change, an annual 12-hour marathon during which employees donate pro bono marketing, design and communications services to cash-strapped nonprofits, dovetails neatly with the programmer’s core creative competencies, has local and national impact, and has grown so popular among employee volunteers that they’re wait-listed.

Each fall, about 125 employees assist 20 to 30 organizations with all the elements of marketing and branding, including content, art and overall strategies.

"It is beautiful when potential meets reality, and that is what happened for A Wider Circle when we participated in Creating Change,” Mark Bergel, executive director of the Silver Spring, Md.-based nonprofit, which he founded in 2001 with a mission to end poverty “one individual and one family after another.”

Bergel was referencing a new logo employee volunteers designed for the organization during a “Changeathon”: The words “We won’t stop until it’s…” hover above “OVER,” spelled out in block letters, magnified and spotlighted, within the larger word “POVERTY.”

“Our mission and our efforts to propel the mission took a quantum leap forward as a result," Bergel said.

David Leavy, who as DCI chief communications officer and senior executive VP, corporate marketing & affairs spearheads the Discovery Impact program, spoke with Multichannel News about the culture required to support corporate responsibility, employee participation and the internal benefits.

MCN: What was the impetus behind forming Discovery Impact and what’s the key to running it?

DAVID LEAVY: We are a purpose-driven company, and Discovery launched with a mission to give back to its communities and produce content that both educates and entertains. So that culture creates a fertile environment for these kinds of activities. Giving back has always been part of our brand, and millennials demand that organizations have corporate responsibility as part of their mission.

So the culture internally lends itself to these kinds of initiatives, and we have a lot of support. We present to the board two times a year. [DCI president/CEO] David Zaslav is extremely supportive. It has to start with the culture because if the program is in the proverbial closet in the back room, it won’t be successful. It has to be a priority.

This is our sixth year. A lot of companies struggle with how to do it right. This is not buying a table at a charity dance. You can’t brand that, feel that, have a relationship with your community through that. That’s your father’s corporate social responsibility. Today has to be a lot more [hands-on]. You can buy a table or organize a program with volunteers going out every weekend.

So this is not your father’s social responsibility because of all the things you need to get out in the field and touch the community, the citizens who support us. That connective tissue and empowerment is so powerful. But you have to get away from the table and reinvent the model, which I think we did.

MCN: The program runs a number of initiatives. How do you staff it?

DL: We have a team of core people plus a network of team captains throughout the program. So we can tap a business unit representative to help – we have ambassadors in each unit and people very passionate about their projects.

When we launch an effort, we’ll go to them – the employee volunteers. They take it as seriously as their day job or we wouldn’t be able to do that. So we have a small team but we leverage the team captain base throughout the company.

MCN: How does having a sanctioned corporate social responsibility program benefit the company internally?

DL: You wouldn’t believe the amount of loyalty it gives the company in productivity and retention. It’s great as an organization to have our employee base feel so proud of what we are doing.

In most successful public-private partnerships, both sides get something out of it. For our employees, it’s a feeling of pride and being part of something larger than just a for-profit enterprise.

It helps with branding and retention, as well as recruitment. It always comes up in interviews with job candidates – what do you do to give back? So we realize that we’re helping others and ourselves at the same time.

MCN: That touches on a philosophical quandary: Does a truly selfless act exist if you get something from performing it?

DL: It can absolutely be both. You can do well by doing good, and that’s the motto.

Visit the Discovery Impact website to learn more.