Shearer’s Foods Inc. and Robert Shearer, chairman and CEO, believe that the community is more than just the place where the company is located. They see it as the home of their friends, family and employees.
Shearer’s and its employees supports community organizations and events through monetary donations, product donations and by giving their time to numerous causes. Contributions vary from truckload quantities of product distributed directly to food banks to sponsorships of schools and youth programs. Many of their charitable donations have become an annual tradition.
In 2003, Shearer’s Foods formed an in-house Caring and Sharing Committee. The committee’s mission is to identify employees and people in the community with special needs and provide support while getting all of the employees involved in fundraising. Fundraising events are held throughout the year and have proven to have a positive impact.
People in need receive the physical, emotional and financial help they require to get back on their feet, and by participating in events, employees get involved in the community. The Caring and Sharing Committee has helped pay for unexpected medical bills, heating bills, groceries, funeral expenses, gas bills, telephone bills, Christmas gifts and much more. Over the past seven years, the committee has raised and distributed more than $100,000.
Organizations, such as the American Cancer Society, the American Red Cross, Hospice of Stark County, The Compassionate Friends and many more, have benefited from the committee’s generosity. The committee also raises money through raffles, bake sales, candle sales and by collecting $1 a week from employees who want to wear jeans on Fridays. It all goes to a good cause.
All employees of Shearer’s are encouraged to participate in charity events of any kind. Each year, salaried employees of Shearer’s are eligible to participate in the “Day of Charity” program, which allows employees to donate four hours of their time to a worthy cause on a regularly scheduled workday and be paid for their time. Employees have utilized this program to help causes like Habitat for Humanity, Pegasus Farm, food banks and soup kitchens to name just a few.
Shearer’s encourages charity work so much that the employee who donates the most time above and beyond any special programs or the Caring and Sharing Committee, gets recognized at the Annual Associate Appreciation Dinner. A $1,000 award is donated to a charity of his or her choice and that employee is further recognized in press releases and on the company’s website.
HOW TO REACH: Shearer’s Foods Inc., (330) 767-3426 or www.shearers.com
