Each year, many organizations across the forest products sector make a difference through giving. Some companies quietly donate a percentage of their profits to charitable causes. Others may sponsor annual giving programs, as is the case with Berry Industrial Group which this year features its Pallets for Palates effort. Others roll up their sleeves to help in response to urgent needs such as in the face of flood or hurricane.
Giving not only lifts the spirits of recipients. It can also help boost the pride of your employees, and demonstrate the social responsibility of your company to the community as well as to trading partners. Here are just a handful of examples of organizations which made a difference in 2017.
Pallets for Palates: Being Thankful and Bringing Smiles to the Less Fortunate
Every year during the holiday season, Berry Industrial Group makes a donation to a charity in honor of its customers and vendors. “Several years ago you could take them out for lunch or dinner,” explained Debra Berry, company CEO. “That’s just not appropriate these days in the professional world so we thought making a donation would be more appropriate, especially during the holiday season.”
In recent years the company has supported other causes such as St. Jude’s and SIDS. It looks to raise awareness toward a different charity each year. “We chose Operation Smile this year.,” Berry said. “It is about children and adults who have cleft palates. It involves medical intervention to bring back people’s smiles.”
The name of their campaign in support of Operation Smile, fittingly, is called Pallets for Palates. Company customers, vendors, families and colleagues are all encouraged to email a photo of a pallet that has been upcycled in some way into furniture, artwork, etc. For every picture received, Berry Industrial Group will donate $10 to Operation Smile.
The pictures are all posted at the Berry Industrial Group website (http://berryindustrial.com/pallets-for-palates/), as well as the amount of money that has been raised toward the company’s $15,000 goal.
“This was something we could include our customers and vendors with, and it is a fun thing to see,” Berry said. “It is easy to get involved and it’s for a good cause.”
If you have a picture to share, please email it to berryinfo@berryindustrial.com.
Like other companies, Berry Industrial sponsors a variety of causes. This year it collaborated with one of its vendors to offer financial assistance to a Christian ministry group operating boats in Texas in support of rescue operations. “It was really heartwarming because you knew it went directly to these guys to fund their efforts,” she said. “They saved 329 people and animals. It was just a group of five or six people.”
“We are very fortunate people,” Berry concluded. “We have a good business and healthy children, so it makes you realize how lucky you are. And if you can, share the wealth.”
Pallet Consultants: Managing Logistics Critical to Getting Donations to the Needy
The history of giving at Pallet Consultants goes back to 2005 and the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Gus Gutierrez, CEO of the company was at that time a participant in an executive leadership development and networking group in Florida. Another member of the program was AJ Cheponis, at that time the CEO of his own successful stair manufacturing company, and now director of sales and marketing for Pallet Consultants. “AJ and I knew each other on a CEO level,” Gutierrez said. “When Katrina struck, he called and said we needed to do something.”
“I was watching the news, and I was really disturbed that all those people were stranded and needed assistance,” Cheponis recalled. “I thought it was crazy for help to be taking so long.” He phoned Gutierrez as well as some other CEOs. The response from Gutierrez was positive. “Gus said, hey, whatever you need, let’s make this happen. If you need supplies and trucks, let’s do it.”
Before too long, they had organized several trucks worth of supplies heading to Mississippi and New Orleans. The initiative had been sparked by Cheponis. Gutierrez used his logistics expertise to help put the plan into action.
Gutierrez stressed that logistics cannot be underestimated when it comes to ensuring that supplies get into the hands of the needy. Routing the trucks is important, as there may be road closures to navigate. Additionally, there needs to be someone at the destination to make sure the goods get distributed. During Katrina, they received commitments from local fire departments to help at the receiving end. Quickly packing, palletizing and loading the freight for shipment also helped expedite the process.
In this year’s disasters in Texas and Houston, individual plants took it upon themselves to send relief supplies. Additionally, John Gamez of Pallet Consultants helped coordinate a load of donated pharmaceutical supplies for shipment to Houston.
Pallet Consultants also supports charitable causes including WorldVenture and Children International.
“I think that’s what started it, all those years ago,” said Cheponis. And I believe that is how a lot of cultures develop. It has been very organic. When there is need, we all pitch in and help. Gus has set the tone by his actions, and people have followed.”
Willow Brae Pallets: Christmas Fundraiser Aids Reforestation
Last year, Willow Brae Pallets, an Ontario pallet company, launched its “Trees for the Forest” Fundraiser. It involved the sale of Christmas trees made from reclaimed pallet wood to help support tree planting in Woolwich Township.
“We are always excited about promoting sustainability,” explained Cheryl Weber, vice president of Willow Brae Pallets. “We wanted to get involved in a project that involved tree planting. It only made sense to help replenish what we use.” When Willow Brae found out that Trees Woolwich, a local non-profit dedicated to local reforestation was at work in the township planting trees, its executive team thought it was the perfect opportunity to get involved.
“This year, to try to get more of the money directly to the cause, we have partnered with the Grade 10 woodworking class at Elmira District Secondary School, the local high school, to build the trees in their shop class,” Weber said. Some local retailers have come on board as outlets for the sale of the trees.
“We are thankful for all of the community members who have chipped in to make the project happen,” Weber added. “I can really see this as an ongoing fundraiser that will not only raise money each year but also raise awareness for Trees for Woolwich and what they are accomplishing locally.”
Greenway Products & Services Raises Money for Cancer Research, Toys
Bald is more than just a fashion statement for Dominick Davi of Greenway Products & Services. By taking sponsors to shave his head, Davi participates in a fundraiser every year to raise money for childhood cancer research through the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. Last year the pallet industry played a major role in this effort helping Davi in his campaign. He raised more than $12,500 to benefit the campaign.
Greenway is a pallet recycler in the New York City area. David shared, “I have had tons of support from people in the industry. And it goes to a great cause to fight childhood cancer.”
Cancer hit Davi personally because the woman who helped raised him as a child died of cancer. He explained, “I saw first-hand the impact of cancer, and it is horrible.”
Dominick Davi’s son, Sean, participated in the fundraiser this year and raised more than $2,700. The campaign is held in conjunction with St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Davi’s town. As a local Cub Scout leader, the local troop participates with some youngsters raising funds too. Davi added, “It’s a real fun event that brings our community together for a great cause.”
For the last 17 years, Davi and his brother, Frank, have donated toys to New York City’s AHRC schools, including the St. Francis De Paola school — a school that services pre-school children with developmental delays including autism, and those who are medically fragile. This year the Davi’s purchased and the Davi Santa personally distributed toys to children at the school. All told, the Davi’s donated 2,000 toys to several schools and charities this year.
The AHRC school system holds a special place in the hearts of the Davi family. As children themselves, Dominick and Frank were supported and nurtured by Rose D’Angio, a generous and warm family friend. Mrs. D’Angio’s brother ministered in the AHRC. Donations are made in honor and memory of Mrs. D’Angio.
This is the 17th year Greenway’s “Make a Kid Happy” campaign has been delivering toys and smiles to many children and families in need. Giving back to the community is a long-standing tradition for Greenway. For more information on the program and how you can join us spread the joy, click here.
Carolina Loggers Make a Difference by Being Ready to Help
“Giving back is extremely important to our organization,” explained Jonzi Guill of the Carolina Loggers Association (CLA). “Our association is mostly made up of very hard-working loggers who normally had help along the way from other loggers, family members, sometimes even strangers. We want the world to know that we are grateful for the help we’ve received along the way, and we want to help others in their time of need as well.”
When Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc in North Carolina in 2016, the Carolina Loggers were prompted to action. “A couple of our board members came up with the idea of donating water in a large capacity,” explained Guill. “We began working immediately to figure out how to make this happen.” They created a label, “Loggers for Clean Water,” to show the care their group had for the environment and helping people in times of need.
“What we discovered was that this project wasn’t something we could throw together in a few days,” Guill said. It took a few months to have the labelled water produced and shipped. By the time it arrived from the bottling plant, the aftermath of Matthew had been largely cleaned up. The group decided to keep the water on hand so that when a future disaster struck, the aid relief would be ready to ship.
When this year’s disasters hit Texas and Florida, the group was ready to help. “Since we already had the water on hand in storage, all we needed was to find a way to get it to them,” Guill said. Various industry partners such as CTW Equipment and Domtar offered assistance. The Association rented a truck, and Domtar provided employees to drive the water to Florida.
Giving in response to a disaster is a skill set that is developed through experience. “We’ve learned during this project that there are people and businesses out there that want to team up and help give back when these disasters occur, but a lot of times they just don’t know how to go about doing it,” Guill said.
Resolute Forest Products: Forget a Truck, Send a Whole Rail Car
When Hurricane Harvey hit Texas, Seth Kursman, a former Houston resident and a vice president for Resolute Forest Products, phoned his boss. He suggested to Richard Garneau, the company president and CEO that it would be nice if they could do something to help, like sending a truckload of lumber or something. Garneau’s response was to forget about the truck and send a whole rail car instead.
And then Gareau went a step further by putting out a challenge to the industry to see if any other companies would match their donation. At least one other operator did step forward – Frank Dotari of White River Forest Products.
Then when Hurricane Irma hit Florida, the company decided to match its own donation, sending a rail car of lumber to Florida as well. From its tissue plants in Calhoun Tennessee and Florida, it also sent tens of thousands of boxes of tissue and paper towels in support of the relief effort.
“Then when there was a ship carrying newsprint from Baie Comeau (Quebec) to Puerto Rico, the community got involved, and we filled a whole ocean container full of tissue, water, canned food and all of that, and it went from Baie Comeau to the people of Puerto Rico,” Kursman said. “It was really pretty awesome.”
Is Charity a Corporate Value for Your Company?
Giving is an established routine for many companies, and for other organizations, 2017 marked a new beginning. There isn’t necessarily a template about how to get involved, as Carolina Loggers found out. Learning on the fly and from others can help ensure that the needed resources get to those who need them. Other options for giving include supporting existing charities or creating a unique campaign in support of one of them. There is no shortage of causes available. What can you do in 2018 to make charity part of your corporate culture if it isn’t a major value now?
If there is one certainty, it is that companies continue to support charitable causes year in and year out because they feel the responsibility to give back and see the benefit to their enterprise. Giving is an uplifting experience for donor and recipient alike. Charity can help a company build brand awareness, cement relationships and make the world a better place.
