There are few, if any, better ways for a business to accomplish some genuine good and enhance its status as a corporate citizen of the community than by reaching out to those in need. Community outreach acknowledges a company’s membership in the community, and during the holiday season – when needs are often more apparent and more pressing than at other times – you can find many opportunities to reach out and help.
An individual or company can, of course, always donate money to some worthy charity and turn away with the feeling of having done good. But true community outreach isn’t always about money or the things it can buy; it’s often about giving time and participation, about company employees at all levels becoming involved in the community. Woodrow Wilson once said, “Provision for others is a fundamental responsibility of human life.” A company’s community outreach fulfills that responsibility.
As the holiday season approaches, company representatives and employees acting alone or in groups can reach out in a number of ways and make a difference in the community. A few outreach opportunities follow.
In many towns, holiday dinners are provided at homeless shelters, missions and senior citizen activity centers. The sponsoring organizations that run these dinners always need donations for food or volunteers to help with preparation and serving. For example, in one community, a small team of middle managers regularly serves Thanksgiving dinner at a homeless shelter.
Almost every community has active channels for donating food and usable clothing. You need not look beyond a few churches or a local community center to find a food pantry or clothing depot. These centers take donations from businesses as well as individuals, and a team of employees working to round up food and clothing could accomplish a great deal in short order. The employees of one inner-city health services organization adopted the practice of assembling Thanksgiving and Christmas food baskets for needy families in the community.
Some nationally known outreach programs welcome individual and corporate participation. Toys for Tots provides toys at Christmas to needy and underprivileged children. Sponsored by the U.S. Marine Corps, Toys for Tots has centers in most cities and has received and distributed toys since 1947. Another program providing gifts for children who might otherwise go without is the Salvation Army Angel Tree. Most churches in the community can provide information about this particular outreach, which primarily provides gifts for children of imprisoned parents.
Hospitals and nursing homes always need volunteers, and that need becomes more pressing during the holidays when the staff is slim. Most nursing homes always have a few elderly residents who have outlived friends and family and have no one to bring them small gifts or brighten up their days. Sometimes volunteering can consist of no more than visiting with or reading to someone who is alone and limited to a bed, chair or single room. Hospices can also use volunteers during the holiday season. Some of the smaller, independent hospices need supplies and equipment.
Most local chambers of commerce sponsor holiday activities and would welcome a company’s volunteerism as well. In one community, a local business group sponsors a yearly “Train Ride with Santa Claus” using the facilities of an old, now largely inoperative regional railroad.
And, as elementary as this may sound, don’t neglect the effects of holiday decorating or published greetings to the community. One manufacturing company gained a reputation for its 20-foot Christmas card, placed in front of its plant each year. Also, a number of companies regularly publish a yearly message of goodwill and best wishes in their local newspapers.
Some company management groups have paid little attention to involvement in their communities, preferring to exist in a social and geographic vacuum. This posture, however, can lead to de facto isolation of a company at a time when it may need the support and good will of the community. But the company that reaches out – the true corporate citizen of the community – will rarely find itself isolated.
This article was reprinted with the permission of the National Federation of Independent Business, a Washington, D.C.-based organization representing small and independent businesses across the United States. NFIB was recently ranked the most influential business organization and third overall in “Washington’s Power 25” survey conducted by Fortune magazine. Check them out on the Internet at www.nfib.com.