Giving Back: 3 ways for your business to give back in the new year
Giving Back: 3 ways for your business to give back in the new year
As we enter 2024, we all hope for a prosperous and positive year ahead. We often spend the first few weeks of the new year focusing on internal goals and metrics we'd like to meet for ourselves or our businesses. Here are a few ideas on how to balance out those personal or business goals with some giving-back-focused goals to help us feel connected to our communities, and part of a bigger picture:
Designate volunteer opportunities for your team: A growing trend we have seen over the last few years is designated volunteering days. Many companies give 1-2 paid days off for their employees to get involved in a community or charity initiative of their choice through volunteering. This is a great way to increase morale by providing social meaning and purpose for your team. This might mean an individual employee might devote a few hours to the Boys and Girls Club, or an entire team could spend an afternoon distributing donated groceries at a local food bank.
Support local at your next event: Many businesses have team or customer events that involve dining or an activity. Next time you have an event like this, seek out ways to support local. Perhaps it is dining at a local restaurant, or purchasing local goods to be given out at customer or staff appreciation events.
Host your own event or drive: If you are passionate about a certain cause, a great way to get involved is to host your own event or fundraising opportunity. This could be a food drive, a charity golf tournament, or a collaboration event with local charities. There is a diverse range of options depending on what best fits your business and budget.
Kott Holiday Helping
Each Holiday season, Kott Inc. gets into the spirit by choosing local charities to support in each of the three areas they have business locations: Ottawa, Uxbridge, and Coburg. Kott then matches any contributions made by the team to any of the local organizations selected.
This year's charities of choice were the Caring and Sharing Foundation in Ottawa, Holiday Helpers Uxbridge and the Northumberland Fare Share Food Bank. Below is some information on each organization.
Caring and Sharing Foundation: The Caring and Sharing Exchange is a local charity that provides assistance to Ottawa families and individuals in need, during the Christmas season and the back-to-school season.
Holiday Helpers: Holiday Helpers provides the complete Christmas experience to families living in low-income situations. Their goal is to provide necessary poverty relief items while sharing the spirit of Christmas and giving.
Northumberland Fare Share Food Bank: Fare Share Food Bank's goal is to distribute food and personal necessities to their Neighbours in need in the communities of Port Hope, Cobourg and surrounding areas.
One may expect that team members would simply support the charity closest in proximity to them. However, this year Kott experienced a surge in employees electing to donate to the charity based on the cause, rather than the location.
The Fare Share Food Bank, for example, received a lot of support from outside Northumberland, as many team members felt connected to this cause with the high cost of living all Canadians are experiencing right now.
"That's the great benefit about having different charities to select from", says Wendy Smith, Kott's Communications Director, "People have the option to support their community locally but they also have a range of causes that they can learn about and choose to support as well."
Thank you, Kott, for sharing with us how you have supported your community over the holiday season! We are glad to be able to spread the message on these charities with our Sexton community.
Getting to Know the Group
We are confident when we say we have a strong, powerful team behind our members at Sexton Group. We want to ensure you get to know each and every team member new and old. This week, we have a little bit about our Marketing Coordinator, Sarah Bridges!
Sarah has been with Sexton Group for just over two years. Her favourite part of her job is getting to know members through face-to-face events, writing member feature stories for the Signal and assisting in opportunities for member businesses to be spotlighted such as at industry events and in industry publications.
Outside of work, Sarah spends as much of her time as she can with family, friends and pets. Her favourite season is summer, so you will find her enjoying the fleeting warm weather in the garden, at the cabin, dining al fresca or walking her pup, Bravo – rain or shine!
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At JELD-WEN, our commitment to giving back shines through our new cutting-edge JWC8500 series of windows, setting the standard in energy efficiency for a Net Zero Future. Seamlessly integrating this innovation, we've earned repeated ENERGY STAR accolades, underscoring our commitment to a greener tomorrow. Our 'Keep Outside Out' digital platform and guidance on the Greener Homes Grant ensures builders and homeowners are well-informed and prepared. With JELD-WEN, every step towards energy efficiency is a stride towards a more sustainable, well-supported building community. This year, choose JELD-WEN for a harmonious blend of innovation, information, and environmental stewardship.
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