Across the Country, Contractors Give Back
Across the country, members of Associated Builders and Contractors embody the meaning of philanthropy by helping charitable organizations succeed and encouraging others to give back.
In the Midwest, Willmar Electric Service employees exemplify the company’s philosophy of making a difference in Minnesota, North Dakota and Oklahoma by volunteering at the charity of their choice throughout the year. In return, the company offers additional paid time off for employees who volunteer more than 100 hours during their time off. Willmar Electric also thanks the employees who volunteer the most hours by giving a cash donation to the charity of their choice.
“Willmar invests in the lives of coworkers and this bleeds over into coworkers investing into the lives of others,” says Willmar Electric Director of Human Resources Trista Selander. “Yes, we help build buildings, but we also desire to help employees build a community that respects, honors and blesses those around them.”
On the East Coast, two companies are finding their own way to give back, specifically to fight cancer and raise funds for research. In Rockville, Md., Shapiro & Duncan, Inc. raised more than $2,000 to donate to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Throughout the month of October, about half of the company’s employees purchased t-shirts for $10 each, with all sales benefiting the foundation. Plus, for every shirt purchased, Shapiro & Duncan contributed another $5—resulting in a total donation exceeding $3,000.
“We want our employees to be part of something beyond the great work we do in the mechanical trade,” says Shapiro & Duncan Business Development Specialist Stacey Ehring. “We find that participating in community service helps increase employee morale by giving our employees a greater purpose than just work, and each charity improves company morale in its own way. For example, with the breast cancer awareness campaign, wearing those t-shirts brought on stories we shared about our loved ones. Some wore them in honor of someone close to them, and our team felt proud to wear them.”
Down in Orlando, Fla., Comprehensive Energy Services, Inc., (CES) raised $20,000 to benefit the Florida Hospital Cancer Institute with its annual charity golf tournament. Thirty CES employees and their families were involved in the event, either during the planning process or by golfing in or volunteering during the tournament.
In seven years, CES’s charitable tournaments—along with more than 100 contributing sponsors and supporters—have raised $109,000 benefiting Florida Hospital Cancer Institute, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, The Golden Rule Foundation, Kids House of Seminole and the American Red Cross.
CES is involved in countless other philanthropic events, with management leading by example. Co-founder Shelly Morgan and HR Director Judy Ellis participated in the Fourth Annual Doing Business in Your Bathrobe event, in which a local organization, Pearls for Women, partnered with the Women’s Resource Center and encouraged attendees to bring gently used or new robes and flip flops to help give comfort to a woman in need. More than 1,000 robes were collected and donated to domestic violence shelters in Central Florida. In addition, Morgan received Central Florida’s “Outstanding Philanthropist” Award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
The company also gives back to the community by partnering with Clancy and Theys Construction to support two military families through the Wounded Warrior Project.
“Even though the economy has taken its toll on all of us, the men and women of CES still have much to be thankful for, and one of those is the military personnel and their families who sacrifice so much for us,” says CES Co-Founder and President Todd Morgan.
From ABC
Trenton H. Cotney
Florida Bar Certified Construction Lawyer
Trent Cotney, P.A.
407 N. Howard Avenue
Suite 100
Tampa, FL 33606
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