Story #64 - Charitable Giving

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Story #64 highlights some of SSM’s past projects related to charitable giving and community give back.

Over the course of 90 years, SSM has taken an active role in supporting the needs and events of our community. We’ve also taken great pride in supporting the passions of our employees. From non-profit donations to collection events - we’ve dedicated our time and hearts to giving back to our community.

Here are just a few memories of our charitable giving through the years.

 

For many years we participated in the Salvation Army Christmas Sharing program. Through those years we provided gifts for children, expanded to include seniors, and for a few years, departments adopted families in the program and provided Christmas meals and gifts.

We followed a similar initiative and expanded to our geographic communities. In the Lehigh Valley we supported the Holiday Hope Chest Program. Holiday Hope Chests is a national project to help less fortunate children living in the Lehigh Valley by distributing gifts to non-profit agencies serving children.

We also built and filled kits for homeless residents to receive at Opportunity House. Kits included self care and hygiene items such as toothbrushes, soap, socks, and more.

Throughout the years our offices also engaged in nationwide initiatives such as the March of Dimes Blue Jeans for Babies and Daffodil Days and Relay for Life for Cancer Funding and Awareness.

 

For many years, SSM held a Mini Golf Charity Open. Employee teams, consisting of 2-4 players, paid an entry fee to participate. They also designated a charity they were playing for. Then, miniature golf began! But, it wasn’t just your typical miniature golf course. Our holes were built by SSM team members. And they did not disappoint. Our engineers and designers got more creative and intuitive with their designs every year, putting the golfers to the challenge.

The lowest scoring team won. And what did they win? The pot of registration fees - which all went to their charity of choice. The miniature golf open was a creative way that SSM put charitable giving into the hands of the employees - the things they are passionate about and love to support. Plus, it came with a little bit of fun for everyone!

 

In 2013, employees teamed up and worked to beautify the Riegelsville Borough Park. The team mulched both play areas, painted the refreshment stand and installed a fence around the parking area.

 

We’ve also had opportunities to support community initiatives.
When a Borough in our community was upgrading their playground, our team helped, donating the sliding board. The sliding board is still a favorite at the Mohnton Memorial Park, and we’re proud to have provided it for many families to enjoy.

In 2021, our Facilities team provided engineering expertise to support a community initiative. The 18th Wonder “Touch is Essential” public art installation was a recognition of local essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project consisted of 8 sections of high-grade steel that housed 200 tiles each. SSM contributed the design of the steel base structure joined by Reading Truck Body who contributed the fabrication.

 

Our team has taken many opportunities to collect financial and tangible resources for local and nationwide organizations. We’ve supported our clients in their food drives, sponsored collections for our team members’ volunteer groups, stuffed the bus, filled backpacks, and a whole lot more.

We’ve always found new opportunities to support the great things that the people around us are doing. And our team members have never failed to astound us with their generosity and open hearts to great causes.

 

Initiated in 2018, and inspired by the Returning the Favor show, the Give Back program is an employee-driven program that annually designates and donates a percentage of our profit to give back to the community. Since its inception, we have provided more than $40,000 in community donations.

The concept is simple - find people who are doing something decent in their community and do something decent for them – something that allows them to do more of whatever it is they’re already doing. Every year we invite our team members to nominate the organizations and causes they care about. Our Give Back Club, a volunteer group of team members, gets together and distributes the year’s funds according to our employees’ passions.

Over the years we’ve provided a rescue dog, sponsored a family in need, funded backpack programs, provided funding for grants/scholarships for students. provided hot meal gift cards, and so much more. The best part about the Give Back program is that from start to finish everything is in the hands of our team members.

 

Over the years, we’ve proudly joined our community in making the world a better place. We’re proud to support our employees’ passions, along with our community’s needs. We’ve always opened our doors for new opportunities to do great things. From sponsoring our clients’ events, to attending our employees’ fundraisers - we believe giving back is a part of who we are.