The general feeling one comes away with is that while times are tough in the world of workforce mobility, charitable causes continue to evolve and the spirit of giving continues to grow. While Worldwide ERC® has led the way with a wonderful example of benevolence, many of the regional relocation groups and their members have expanded workforce mobility industry generosity. Of the following contributing groups and members there is a clear picture of evolution. Some have evolved to a very sophisticated level of charitable cause cultures and activities; others are less formal, but just as benevolent.
Each of the participating groups and member companies were presented with the same questions and topics. The following summary of their responses clearly will demonstrate their benevolence. Each group was asked to comment on their charitable cause’s culture, fundraising efforts, member involvement, their greatest/most notable fundraising effort, membership encouragement, existence of individual donations, and if there has been a positive effect on members.
A Social Responsibility
When asked to describe their regional group’s culture as it pertains to charity, most expressed the desire to give back to those in need while defining both local and national beneficiaries.
The Pacific Northwest Relocation Council (PNWRC) considers charitable causes a “social responsibility” and demonstrates this throughout the entire year. The charitable causes committee of The Corporate Relocation Council of Chicago (CRC) lives by the following mission statement:
“To raise awareness and encourage the volunteerism of its membership with regard to housing-related issues in the Chicagoland area through fundraising and volunteering for an organization it has chosen to support.”
Expressing the desire to “support the local community,” the Minnesota Employee Relocation Council (MERC) focuses on local community beneficiaries. Other groups with a local focus are Metro Atlanta Relocation Council (MARC), Kansas City’s Heart of America Relocation Council (HARC), and the St. Louis Employee Relocation Council (STLERC). Local and national charities are the benefactors of the Pacific Northwest Relocation Council, The Corporate Relocation Council of Chicago, and the New England Relocation Association (NERA).
Not only do member companies such as NRI Relocation Inc., Landauer/HomeBuyer’s Preferred, and Morreale Real Estate Services Inc. participate in their regional relocation group’s activities, but they also have created their own culture of giving. Morreale Real Estate Services has taken the meaning of bonus initiatives to another level. Many companies such as Morreale Real Estate Services link annual bonuses to customer service incentives but, in this case, the funds raised for charity also are linked to bonuses for the employees. NRI Relocation Inc. has a voluntary culture allowing its employees the freedom to participate and select the recipients. The charitable culture of Landauer/HomeBuyer’s Preferred includes an Employee Philanthropy Committee that coordinates and drives charitable causes.
A Look at Events
While each group’s fundraising efforts and chosen charities vary in many ways, there are some similarities. A silent auction in conjunction with holiday events seems to be a popular way to raise funds. Gathering toys, food, and clothing from the membership is another common way to aid charities. There is, however, some unique fundraising efforts and ways of “giving back” that some of the other groups have used. At their annual holiday party, the STLERC has a live auction in addition to the silent auction, as well as direct dollar donations “auctioned” by the auctioneer. “Paces for Pickle” was a 10K road race that MARC sponsored for one member’s child in need of special health care. The PNWRC held the “Relay for Life,” where members did a group walk for Women and Children in Transition, as well as for The American Cancer Society. As highlighted in the July 2009 issue of MOBILITY magazine, five PNWRC moving company members donated crews to relocate the local Women and Children in Transition facility.
In addition to the aforementioned regional group methods of fundraising, the member companies also have come up with some interesting activities. NRI Relocation Inc. raises funds by having food cook-offs, hot dog lunch day, root beer float day, pajama day, a bake sale, and a dress down day. Landauer/HomeBuyer’s Preferred also has a dress down/jeans day as well as an annual “Taste of Landauer,” where employees prepare and serve their homemade specialties. Games such as bingo are played during the “Taste” for additional fundraising. A semi-annual blood drive and payroll deductions also are methods that Landauer uses to raise funds. A raffle for Major League Baseball jerseys, 10-pound packages of Ferrara Pan candy, and a company-wide garage sale helped to provide funds for Morreale Real Estate Services’ charities of choice. All three companies have had great success with employee involvement with organizations and activities such as Wings—Women In Need Getting Stronger, care packages for U.S. troops, The Christopher Steele Foundation for Brain Cancer, Slipper Day for Breast Cancer Awareness, The Celiac Foundation, Girl Scout Cookies, high school Drug Day Awareness, Juvenile Arthritis, Life Source (blood center), and Habitat for Humanity.
When it comes to member involvement, many of the regional relocation groups donate their own blood, sweat, and tears in the form of assisting families in need. In Kansas City, the HARC members participate in an annual “Volunteer Day” for an assortment of charities. The Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital, Habitat for Humanity, and the Rosedale Development Corporation are among the recipients of their hard work. Some of the various tasks are building brick retaining walls, driveways, and sidewalks and other projects such as interior and exterior painting of homes and schools. Similarly, the CRC donates much of its silent auction proceeds to Rebuilding Together, which concentrates on the elderly and needy. Each year the members gather at a designated property in the Chicago metro area to paint, clean, repair, remodel, and landscape for a family in need. For many of the groups the involvement is mostly at the committee or board level where it is determined how funds will be raised and what charities are chosen. Individual member involvement examples are distribution of food to people in need (CRC), and supporting road race and group walk activities (MARC and PNWRC).
Great Stories
There are some great stories concerning the greatest/most notable fundraising efforts. This year’s PNWRC charitable cause effort of donating a very involved business move was an exceptional example of original thinking combined with unbelievable cooperation from five competing movers in Seattle, WA.
In Chicago, the CRC was able to raise enough for Rebuilding Together to rehab three homes and then there was enough left to contribute to the Worldwide ERC® Coalition.
BAPRM invites firefighters to attend their annual holiday meeting to accept toys and cash for the San Francisco Firefighter Toy Drive for needy children. In St. Louis, Lydia’s House is a charity for women and children in transition. Confidential apartments are provided for up to 24 months and the charity was in need of stoves for 13 of the units. This was only one of two charities supported by STLERC, but the membership very quickly made personal donations to buy 13 stoves. If a member’s barn, live music, a chili cook-off, and tasting brats, beer, and wine sound like a Minnesota activity… well it was. In September 2008, and again this year, there was and will be a charitable event for Prism, a local food shelf.
Habitat for Humanity and Rebuilding Together once again seem to be most notable for the member companies as “hands-on” work seems to give great satisfaction and leaves a lasting impression.
Membership encouragement for involvement is sometimes easier when golf outings, holiday parties, and barn parties are used for fundraising, but there is a little more to it than that. Most of the groups use their websites and e-mail blasts to reach out to the membership. In most cases, it is the efforts of the various board and committee members who encourage fellow members. In some cases, it is the members who express the gratifying feelings to other members who then become involved in the extracurricular activities and charitable projects.
Landauer’s Philanthropy Committee or just a simple company-wide presentation of charitable activities seems to be all that is needed at the member company level and all companies expressed an overwhelming spirit of involvement. As in the case of the STLERC most of the regional groups responded that their memberships experienced individual donations as well as corporate and service company donations.
A Rewarding Experience
The reward of having helped someone in need is possibly the most positive impact on members. Earlier, the term “blood, sweat, and tears” was used to describe what happens at an onsite project when a needy family is helped. On more than one occasion the “tears” part of that statement applied on both sides. At the end of the day, tears of gratitude come from the recipient of the work and what follows is tears of emotion and joy from the workers while they are walking away from the project.
While it may not always be that dramatic, the warm feeling of gratification is one of the most positive impacts that a member can experience. Most of the regional groups also remark that member involvement with preparing and planning or performing at an onsite project creates camaraderie and friendship among members.
Similarly, the member companies expressed an employee sense of satisfaction and accomplishment with the added benefit of team building as being a positive impact on employees.
Considering the current economic state of the workforce mobility industry, one clearly can see that our regional relocation groups as well as member companies are living up to the spirit of Jack London’s view of true charity.
Susan Bender, CRP, GMS, of NRI Relocation Inc., Buffalo Grove, Illinois, offers the following advice to regional groups and member companies that are considering charitable causes. “It’s easy to do what we have done. It’s not an activity that is managed, or that needs to be managed by your company. Start small, plant the seed, and allow your employees [members] to own the effort. It will grow in ways that you can’t imagine.
Laura Henneberry, CRP, GMS, is executive vice president of Morreale Real Estate Services, Glen Ellyn, Illinois. She can be reached at +1 630 545 5300 or laurah@morrealeres.com.
Bob Dicke, CRP, is vice president of sales for Blackhawk Moving & Storage, Inc., Sycamore, Illinois. He can be reached at +1 815 895 8136 or rdicke@blackhawkmoving.com.