Charity and community service isn’t the most common of topics in the pages of SD&I, but considering this is time of year for giving, I thought it would be an appropriate use of my column —and there is absolutely no shortage of it in our industry.
I recently attended Honeywell Connect 2014, where the company rightly honored a large number of its dealers for its community outreach programs. I also get plenty of news releases outlining the efforts. Has your company successfully conducted one of these programs? Get the word out! Not only does it feel good to help and give your employees a change to give back, learning about these efforts can spur your competition to do it as well, and that’s a win for everyone. Beyond the helping aspect — which honestly, is enough — these types of programs are a rewarding way to add to positive marketing.
So in the spirit of the holidays, here are just a few of the companies who have taken the time this year to give back. If your company performed a community service or charitable event in the past year, please let me know via email — I plan to launch an ongoing blog post honoring these efforts as they are announced.
Protection 1 was recently honored with the 2014 Mission 500 CSR award for its unique community involvement program held at both local and national levels. P-1's “1 For All” program is a year-round initiative. In 2013 alone, its employees donated more than 25,000 hours of time to 50-plus organizations. It also hosts “All For 1 Day,” an annual day of service where each location has the choice of how to best serve the community they live and work in; and “Food For All Month,” a food drive that collected more than 25,000 pounds of food for local food banks.
Ackerman Security of Atlanta donated more than $2,000 to the Northside Hospital Cancer Institute benefiting their Breast Care Program. The proceeds were a result of the employees’ office campaign to bring awareness with the theme, “Paint Ackerman Pink.” There were events throughout the month which included weekly pink lemonade stands, bake sales, a wall of remembrance, survivor celebrations, and raffles. Several employees also participated in the “Band Together Against Breast Cancer” mixer and photo shoot held by Best Self Atlanta Magazine celebrating businesses giving back in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Tri-Ed Buffalo recently hosted its first annual Classic Car & Motorcycle Show, with all proceeds going to the Wounded Warrior Project. Local alarm companies that participated included ADT Security, Advanced Alarm, Complete Security and Fire Safety Systems, to name only a few. Customers were treated to a BBQ dinner as they enjoyed the 24 classic cars on display.
STANLEY Security, has been donating a portion of all qualifying proceeds from purchases of BEST, PRECISION and STANLEY Commercial Hardware to the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP), and will continue to do so through Dec. 28, 2014.
Acadian Monitoring Services has donated a CheckVideo system and monitoring services for a Fallen Heroes Memorial at El Dorado High School in southern California. The Memorial honors Marine Cpl. Claudio Patino IV, Marine Staff Sgt. William Harrell and Army Sgt. Jason M. Weaver — Dorado graduates who died while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.
COPS Monitoring made a donation to Mission 500 for every person who attended its 2014 Dealer Bonanza event at ISC West.
Diebold recently presented a donation of $5,000 to The Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association Northern Ohio Chapter after its virtual Ice Bucket Challenge at ASIS 2014.
ESA and Mission 500 led a mission trip to Mexico on Oct. 26-30 that focused on giving families in the San Luis Potosi region clean, uncontaminated water. Volunteers had the opportunity to not only strengthen and construct water sanitation systems, but also to educate families and build health awareness related to these issues. Participating security companies included Honeywell, Central 1 Security, Altronix, DMC Security, Anixter, and First Response Inc.
These are just a small handful of the hundreds of inspiring and terrific efforts our industry makes every year. Keep it up, and thanks! To submit your company's successful charitable events to my blog, please email me at [email protected].
