Citizenship is about more than just paying one’s taxes. Good citizens find ways to get involved in their communities, they look for opportunities to use their talents to improve their neighborhoods and they attempt to do things that will help those unable to help themselves.

Good corporate citizens share similar attributes. Whether by donating funds to nonprofit organizations serving their communities, having employees serving on boards and foundations that work to address specific needs or allowing staff members the time to mentor students, companies in a community can make a big difference in the quality of life.

A group of employees from Dominion Virginia Power showed their connection with and love for the city of Suffolk on Thursday by heading over to Oaklawn Cemetery on Market Street to help clean and spruce up the largely neglected historically black cemetery there.

About 50 employees of the power company stayed for most of the day, trimming trees, grinding stumps, raking leaves, cutting grass and clearing overgrown portions of the cemetery. Their efforts piggybacked on the work of the Historic Oaklawn Cemetery Foundation, which was founded a couple of years ago by Tracy Stewart, a nearby resident who began working to restore the cemetery when he noticed that it had fallen into disrepair.

“Community service is very important to Dominion,” media and community relations manager Bonita Harris said this week. She added that some of the employees had expressed a desire to make the cemetery work a regular part of their volunteer efforts and said the company will continue its efforts there with a wreath-laying ceremony for veterans interred there on Dec. 14.

The work is a fine example of a company being a good corporate citizen, setting a fine example not only for its own employees but also for others around Suffolk.