Capa Consulting Group donates 5% of our profits to charities of our client’s choice on a yearly basis. In 2016, our clients chose Triskeles at our recommendation.
Philanthropy is not a concept foreign to corporations, but these days, corporate community outreach and engagement is taking on a style different from that of historical checkbook generosity or an annual one-day giving event.
Businesses are increasingly aware that corporate community involvement programs that are ongoing and include an extensive employee volunteerism component have a greater expanse of benefits and impact for the company, community and employees.
Triskeles, a not-for-profit based in Exton, PA, is an organization that enables corporate participation along these lines. They partner with local businesses to implement engagement programs that focus on community consciousness, especially with regard to food resources and hunger.
Triskeles’ Food For All program, in particular, has been adopted by many companies within the Greater Philadelphia Area and has had much success since its inception in 2011, with 30+ tons of fresh produce donated to date.
Through the Food For All program, companies are provided with supplies, education, and training for the creation and maintenance of raised-bed organic produce gardens.
Situated on company property, the gardens are cared for by the company’s employees, who donate a minimum of 50 percent (but typically all) of the harvested produce to the local food bank.
The initiative helps to spread awareness about the reality of food scarcity and impoverishment within the community. Triskeles COO, Dr. Lisa Faranda, notes that:
“In Chester County [PA] alone there are more than 50,000 people who are living in poverty and are food insecure (14%). That number is even higher in Philadelphia.”
The Food For All program is a particularly engaging pursuit for businesses, as gardening is hands-on and requires consistent attention. It lends itself to collaboration and to learning healthy and sustainable skills, plus it gives employees a reason to get out of their cubicle during the day to check on progress or pick ripened produce – a great employee wellness component.
An additional bonus for both employees and companies is the uplifting feeling of witnessing the results of one’s labor and knowing that your social responsibility is directly improving the quality of life of your fellow community members, and thus, the community as a whole.
“The more a company actively pursues worthy environmental and social efforts, the more engaged its employees are.”
— Causecast
This positivity also informs the execution of work in the workplace and enhances company image and culture, as “when workers feel challenged to use different skills and develop new competencies, they feel more satisfied and productive and are more likely to stay.”[i]
Capa Consulting Group donates a percentage of our business and client-generated revenue to great charities like Triskeles on a yearly basis, and we promote the adoption of the Triskeles Food For All program by our clients.
If you are inspired by this article and Triskeles’ mission and would like to donate, you may do so here. With the holiday and giving season approaching, donations to their cause make an especially meaningful gift.
HR Directors, or others, who would like to partner with Triskeles on the Food For All program can learn more here.
[i] http://www.causecast.com/blog/3-stellar-examples-of-corporate-community-involvement-programs
Quote Reference: http://www.causecast.com/blog/Top-CSR-Trend-Employee-Engagement
This post is by Jessica Yubas. You can follow her at Capa Consulting Group’s blog, on Instagram and LinkedIn.