Give one. Get one.
This straightforward reciprocal idea has been put into practice recently by a local staffing and managed services company.
As part of an initiative to give back and support the nonprofit community, EmploymentGroup sent out letters to around 25 of its customers in August and asked which nonprofit organization was their favorite. From their responses, three were nominated to receive a week’s worth of the agency’s services for free. And, as a thank you for participating, the companies who nominated one of the winning nonprofits also will receive a week of complimentary services.
The Give One - Get One program came about from the desire to be “good corporate citizens,” says EmploymentGroup CEO Mark Lancaster.
“We feel giving back to the community is part of our responsibility as citizens,” he says.
The three nonprofit organizations chosen to receive a week’s help running their day-to-day tasks are the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, the Literacy Center of West Michigan, and the Kalamazoo Literacy Council.
EmploymentGroup will make a charitable donation of $100 each to the other 10 nomiated organizations in an effort to support them and foster growth.
The company chose the three winning nonprofits from the ones nominated based on their missions and the work they do for the community. Literacy is an issue Lancaster believes prevents many people from finding employment and that’s why the two organizations that teach literacy were selected.
“Illiteracy is such a barrier to finding work,” says Lancaster, adding that when people come in to apply for work, “it’s very obvious and painful” when they cannot read.
Helping returning veterans find work is another issue important to EmploymentGroup and that’s the reason the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans will also receive its complimentary services.
“We wanted to honor the vets in some way,” Lancaster says.
Each of the winning organizations will receive one EmploymentGroup field associate for a 40-hour work week to help them with whatever they need. The Grand Rapids Home for Veterans has requested help with yardwork for their week of services.
EmploymentGroup provides everything from administrative work to professional, technical, light industrial work, and more. In addition, their Managed Services division offers outsourced services such as mail and document management, archives, courier, shipping and receiving, custodial, and grounds services.
On an average work day, EmploymentGroup puts around 1,500-1,600 people to work at it customers’ locations. They currently have more than 100 open jobs to fill and Lancaster says many of these temporary jobs eventually lead to permanent employment.
The customers asked to nominate a nonprofit organization are those that currently have a strong relationship with EmploymentGroup and are doing good things in the community as well.
One of the surprising twists of the Give One - Get One program is that Flexfab, the company that nominated the Grand Rapids Home for Veterans, has decided to donate its week of services to the nonprofit instead of using it themselves.
Lancaster says EmploymentGroup will most likely run a Give One - Get One program again next year with the hope of getting more nominations and more customers to participate.
To support the Give One - Get One initiative, here are some ways to get involved:
- Visit
EmploymentGroup online to find out more about them and see if your company could benefit from their services.
- Support the nonprofits selected in the Give One - Get One program by volunteering or donating:
-
The Grand Rapids Home for Veterans
-
Literacy Center of West Michigan
-
Kalamazoo Literacy Council
- Like the EmploymentGroup on
Facebook.
- Follow
@EmploymentGroup on Twitter.
Source: Mark Lancaster, CEO of EmploymentGroup
Writer: Heidi Stukkie, Do Good Editor
Images provided by EmploymentGroup.
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