During this pandemic, the nurses, doctors and first responders have been the true heroes—and we will be forever in their debt. But many other people have gone above and beyond to serve their communities. There’s been a lot of sadness, but at the same time there have been stories of so many people doing their best to help out.
We’ve been so heartened to learn about the everyday person and small businesses finding unique ways to contribute. From individuals who make homemade masks to distillers who now produce hand sanitizers, kindness is all around us. That’s the case with many of our manufacturing clients, as well; in fact, we have a page dedicated to CT Manufacturers Helping Out.
In addition to re-tooling to make face shields and ventilators, several manufacturers in CT are finding unique ways to help out their communities. We’ve already highlighted Sirois Tool, who partnered with TomZ and the Chamber of Commerce in Berlin to create the Local Lunchtime Challenge. If you missed previous posts, both companies are buying lunch for their employees once a week to show their appreciation while supporting local restaurants as they strive to stay in business.
Alan Ortner, President of Sirois Tool, stated, “We are fortunate to be able to keep operating, and we are so grateful to our workforce for showing great flexibility and being willing to do whatever is needed to help. Many companies, unfortunately, are not in the same position right now—and they are struggling. We wanted to show our employees how much we appreciate their hard work, and we also wanted to help other area businesses at the same time.”
Sirois Tool has long had a reputation of helping out their community. Whether it’s The Pajama Program that gives children in group homes, shelters, and foster homes the gift of a bedtime story and warm pajamas, or their traditional food drive, they’re always ready to assist. So when we write about it, there’s no big surprise.
We have other clients who are doing similar kinds of things but hesitate to talk about it. They’re concerned that “broadcasting” this information is too self-serving. We always ask, are you doing it to get credit? The answer is always “no.” Then how can it be self-serving?
We’ve all seen the commercials where a company touts all the good things they’re doing for their community. Sometimes they are good and others come off as very self-serving indeed. The difference is authenticity. If you have the reputation of mistreating and underpaying your employees, no amount of paid advertising can help; however, if you are a company that people like to work for and with, and you give to your community consistently, let people know. It will help them know more about who you are and it just might inspire them to do some good as well.
Prior to the pandemic, manufacturers were in need of employees—and this will still be the case once we reach the “new normal.” Some are experiencing this challenge even more as older employees are choosing an early retirement. Caring about your community is important to the upcoming generation of workers. Making it a priority for your business is just good sense, as it will help you to attract more qualified talent.
At Web Savvy Marketers, we are also doing several things to try to give back. From taking a half day on Friday to deliver Meals on Wheels to making monthly donations to FoodShare and Covenant House, we are very conscious of the needs of others and pleased to be in a position to help out. Obviously, not everyone can take time out of their week or has the funds to support an organization, but if you make helping your community a priority, you’d be amazed at what you can do. And by all means, let people know J