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Author: Companies That Care

Letter to University Presidents about Invisible Differences

Written by Companies That Care on . Posted in Disabilities.

Dear College President,

The percentage of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder has increased in the past 10 years from 1/2500 births to 1/110 births and among boys it is now 1/70.  Similarly, there have also been significant increases in neurobehavioral and learning disabilities.  

These students are now on the cusp of entering college and, in order to graduate, will need different types of accommodations than those that have been available to date.  We hope that your university is aggressively adjusting its support for students with disabilities to reflect these changing demographics and to ensure the campus is providing an environment that welcomes the students with disabilities and enables them to thrive.    

Virtual Book Club

Written by Companies That Care on . Posted in Event Calendar.

The Companies That Care Virtual Book Club is held quarterly via teleconference. We read and discuss both non-fiction and fiction books about the work environment and community, and we share ideas for building workplaces that help people thrive! The Virtual Book Club is moderated, often includes the author as a guest, and lasts one hour. Previous books discussed include:

  • Discussing Relentless Pursuit: A Year in the Trenches with Teach for America by Donna Foote
  • The New Workforce: Five Sweeping Trends That Will Shape Your Company’s Future by Harriet Hankin
  • Faith and Fortune: How Compassionate Capitalism is Shaping American Business by Marc Gunther
  • Chasing Daylight: How My Forthcoming Death Transformed My Life by Eugene O’Kelly
  • Healthy at 100: The Scientifically Proven Secrets of the World’s Healthiest and Long-Lived Peoples by John Robbins

The Virtual Book Club is a free membership benefit for all Community of Caring members and Honor Roll organizations. Click here to register if you are a Community of Caring member or Honor Roll organization. If you are not yet a member of the Community of Caring, please join today for a nominal fee and enjoy many educational and community service opportunities .

If you are not a member of the Community of Caring or part of an Honor Roll Company, the fee is $25 to participate.

Past CAREDAYS Initiatives

Written by Companies That Care on . Posted in Resource Downloads.

CAREDAYS 2007: It’s Your Life

It’s Your Life is a national initiative in which employers and individuals had the opportunity to participate in a two-part program:

  • Choose to live – by following specific activities to improve the quality and length of life and
  • Choose to give – by collecting money and donating it to community health clinics serving uninsured patients

The It’s Your Life initiative generated $18,000 that was donated to community health clinics!

 

CAREDAYS 2006: Spring Back to Life

Spring Back to Life™is a national initiative to provide new recreation, athletic and playground equipment to Mississippi schools seriously damaged or devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Companies, employees and individuals donated funds and hard goods to replace destroyed gym, playground and sports equipment.

Balls, bats, tumbling mats, jungle gyms, jump ropes, nets, hoops, uniforms – all of these and more were donated to 5 Mississippi schools in need. Through employee fundraisers coupled with employer matching contributions, a total of $48,800 was raised for new athletic equipment, and we replaced athletic equipment for 12,250 students across five Mississippi school districts! Read this news article about the impact and results of Spring Back to Life.

 

CAREDAYS 2005: Terrific Tales and Teachers Know Best

Based on the recommendations of librarians and education experts, Center for Companies That Care compiled the Terrific Tales book list, an educationally diverse selection of books for kindergarten through 8th grade. Participating companies collected and distributed classroom libraries of books to local less-advantaged schools.

With the Teachers Know Best initiative, participating companies made donations to fund teachers’ proposals to help fill a range of classroom needs (see www.donorschoose.org). For example, common classrooms gaps include art supplies, costumes and props, calculators and other technology, measurement tools to help children learn about the metric system, books and books-on-tape…many communities have significant needs.

While Center for Companies That Care completed the Teachers Know Best initiative in 2005, organizations may still donate to Teachers Know Best. Please contact marcikoblenz@companies-that-care.org for details.

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Past CAREDAYS Participants

Written by Companies That Care on . Posted in Resource Downloads.

Every year, individuals across the country join together to implement CAREDAYS initiatives at their companies. This list contains the names of organizations that have participated in past CAREDAYS initiatives.

AAA Mid-Atlantic
Baxter Credit Union
Baxter Healthcare
The Care of Trees
CBIZ
CHAN Healthcare Auditors
ChapterHouse, LLC
The Conservation Fund
Convergint Technologies
Curcio Webb
Delnor Health System
Divine Signs
EGL – Houston
Enterprise Fleet Management
Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp.
Grand View Hospital
Great Lakes Cheese
HDR – Kansas City
Human Capital Trust
Interior Investments
Jeff Krol and Associates
Kennedy’s Creative Awards
KPMG LLP
Lake Forest Graduate School of Management
Management Recruiters
McKinley, Inc.
Ohio Savings
Opto Technology, Inc.
PJM Interconnection
Rauland-Borg Corporation
River Lee International
Sage Products
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
State Farm Insurance
TAP Pharmaceutical Products
The Supply Room Companies
Triangle Printers
Unilever – Connecticut
University Health System Consortium
Virginia Commonwealth University Health System
WellStar
Wheels, Inc.

Other Ways to Celebrate

Written by Companies That Care on . Posted in News & Announcements.

Sample Activities
Besides participating in CAREDAYS, there are countless ways to celebrate Companies That Care Day. In recent years, organizations have celebrated by:

  • Sending notes from senior management to employees expressing their appreciation for employee efforts
  • Providing on-site massages for all staff
  • Holding employee-wide meetings
  • Publicizing the organization’s commitment to employees and the community via banners and shirts
  • Providing employees an opportunity to recognize each other by sending “caregrams”
  • Providing an appreciation lunch for all employees
  • Holding a drawing and giving “care packages” to the winners
  • Making a donation to groups supporting the medically uninsured

Some other possibilities include:

  • Communicate the Companies That Care Statement of Commitment:

We believe that our employees and the community are important to our success. Therefore, we are committed to

1) providing a workplace in which employees can thrive and 2) working to sustain and strengthen our community.

  • Conduct focus groups to determine what employees perceive they are recognized for and what they want to be recognized for
  • Hang banners and posters throughout the building to commemorate the Day
  • Hold an ice cream social to recognize vendors that care
  • Have managers spend the day in training courses to hone their people skills
  • Establish an anonymous hotline for employees to report ethics violations
  • Hold a volunteer fair to highlight all the volunteer opportunities within the community

Resources to Celebrate Companies That Care Day
Center for Companies That Care can provide a range of ideas and materials you can customize to implement your own Companies That Care Day theme at your company. Please contact Center for Companies That Care at info@companies-that-care.org or 312-661-1010 if you are interested in any of the following:

  • Fundraising ideas
  • Sample CEO talking points about why it’s important to be a company that cares and Companies That Care Day
  • Sample employee e-mail announcements
  • Sample press release for media about your organization’s participation in the Day

General Sponsorship Opportunities

Written by Companies That Care on . Posted in Careers & Volunteers.

Center for Companies That Care is sustained by contributions from businesses, individuals and foundations that share our mission. Please consider becoming a sponsor.

Sustaining Sponsor – $25,000 and above

  • Participate on Advisory Board and Exchange Steering Committee
  • 10-year waiver of fees for Exchange and Honor Roll application
  • Seal for your website and marketing materials
  • Listed on Center for Companies That Care website
  • Recognition in Center for Companies That Care materials
  • One day of free consulting from a Companies That Care Founder

Founding Sponsor

  • Same benefits as Sustaining Sponsor, but opportunity only available when Center for Companies That Care launches in a new city

Friend – $10,000

  • Participate on Advisory Board and Exchange Steering Committee
  • 2-year waiver of fees for Exchange and Honor Roll application
  • Seal for your website and marketing materials
  • Recognition in Center for Companies That Care materials
  • Listed on Center for Companies That Care website

Supporter – beginning at $1000

  • Customized sponsorship packages with corresponding benefits

Additional Sponsorship Opportunities include:

  • Companies That Care Day Sponsor (includes free Starter Kit and targeted media)
  • Speaker Honoraries
  • Host a Stepping Stones Seminar
  • Printing sponsor
  • Creative ideas that you propose…

Best Practices Road Show

Written by Companies That Care on . Posted in Event Calendar.

The Model:

Using a Road Show model, Companies That Care would like to educate more companies about becoming a company that cares. We are targeting cities in which there is already a core of companies that have shown interest in our mission. We will invite those companies to encourage other employers to attend.  This model requires a minimal commitment on the part of attendees but, we believe, a solid return on the investment of time and money. Our goal is to provide education, information and promote collaboration among like-minded organizations.

 

Purpose:

There are several purposes for the road show: 

  • Encourage companies to become a company that cares, regardless of whether or not they apply for Honor Roll status, and educate them about the characteristics of a company that cares and how to achieve them
  • Learn from local leaders about the needs of the community which companies may be able to help fulfill
  • Facilitate networking, collaboration, and problem solving among companies
  • Explore interest in ongoing learning opportunities in the community

 

Structure and Proposed Agenda:

The Best Practices Road Show is a half-day meeting, beginning with breakfast and wrapping up before lunch. The following is a working agenda for the meeting:

Time

Topic

8:30 am – 9:00 am

Breakfast and Networking

9:00 am – 9:30 am

Introductions and the 10 Characteristics of Companies That Care

9:30 am – 10:15 am

Best Practices of Companies That Care drawn from Honor Roll companies

10:15 am – 10:30 am

Break

10:30 am – 11:00 am

Community Involvement Needs and Opportunities

11:00 am – 12:00 pm

Roundtable Sessions

 #1 Share your organization’s strengths

 #2 Problem solve your challenges

Benefits for Participants:

We believe that by attending a Best Practices Road Show attendees will:

  • Learn best practices ideas from Companies That Care and from their colleagues
  • Identify community involvement opportunities
  • Share their respective organizations’ strengths
  • Problem solve with colleagues/experts
  • Network with like-minded peers

 

Cost to attend:

We will charge $100 per participant for the session, with a discounted rate for those organizations that choose to bring more than one person. The revenue collected would go to Companies That Care.

 

Sponsorship Opportunity:

Your company can serve as a sponsor for the Best Practices Road Show in a city near you. The cost to conduct each Best Practices session is an all inclusive cost of $10,000.

 

Benefits of sponsoring the Best Practices Road Shows:

  • Further your organization’s role and enhance its reputation as a leader in the community and a facilitator of collaboration among companies on behalf of that community
  • Gain further visibility for its outstanding practices
  • Be acknowledged as a sponsor on the invitation and on our website.

In addition, sponsors will receive complimentary tickets for up to 10 guests to attend the Road Show. Guests may be employees, representatives from not-for-profits with which you work, or colleagues from other companies that you wish to introduce to Companies That Care.

 

Responsibilities:

Center for Companies That Care will be responsible for:

Sponsoring Companies will be responsible for:

  • Providing a logo for use on the invitation (both print and internet)
  • Developing the mailing list and sending “e” and hard copy invitations
  • Finalizing the agenda
  • Providing a speaker from Companies That Care
  • Arranging for a community presenter
  • Facilitating the session
  • Handling all administrative components of the Road Show
  • Providing a list of all attendees to sponsor
  • Providing a written overview of the company for use on the invitation and website
  • Providing a logo for use on the invitation (both print and internet)


 Sponsors are welcome to assistance in any aspect of the planning but would not be required to do so.

Optionally, sponsors may choose to:

  • Identify a community speaker to participate in the session
  • Share your own best practices at the session
  • Facilitate one of the breakouts
  • Provide an invitation list of local employers
  • Host the session at one of the company locations

 

We look forward to the opportunity to work with your company to promote the goal of every employer becoming a Company That Cares. We ask that you consider participation in the Best Practices Road Show.

For more information, contact Center for Companies That Care at 312.661.1010.

Rags to Rags – Riches to Riches

Written by Companies That Care on . Posted in Education.

American society prides itself on being a meritocracy, particularly with the fruition of the ‘American Dream’ being achieved by individuals from all types of backgrounds. Success today typically involves some form of higher education, to expand intellectual capacity and to hone one’s skill-set. However, the highest quality education is not the most easily accessible. This infographic takes a look at how the elite tend to fare well, and how the disadvantaged aren’t provided the same opportunities.