We just wrapped up another tax season (number 26 for the firm). Since we are in a professional environment, you will find us dressed anywhere between
business casual to business professional most of the time. However, during tax season, we pulled off our second jean day Friday's, where our employees had the option to wear jeans for $5 with profits going to the charity of choice.
This year after voting, we had a tie between Generous Hands and SPCA, so we voted to support both causes.
Here's an excerpt from the Generous Hands website about their mission in our community...
Generous Hands, Inc. is a small, non-profit organization, based in Vicksburg, Michigan, committed to helping families in time of need. In 2004 ten women in a local Bible study made a commitment to Vicksburg children to provide backpacks of food to those at risk to go hungry on the weekends. Our plan was simple, our concern was genuine, and the Vicksburg community supported us every inch of the way. That first year, twenty children at Sunset Lake Elementary School benefited from our commitment. Expansion to all five schools in the Vicksburg Community Schools district resulted in exponential growth of the Friday Pack program, so that during the 2015-2016 school year, over 330 Vicksburg children (and 148 children in surrounding communities where concerned citizens purchased Friday received weekly backpacks of food.
Generous Hands provides other benefits to the Vicksburg community as well. We have educated our community about hunger (more than 1 in 5 Michigan children live in poverty per 2015 Kids Count data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation). We have taught many children (and adults) about the value of community service, and provided a tangible way for concerned citizens to help hungry children. We have educated both children and adults about nutrition and what a healthy diet looks like. We have encouraged our Friday Pack families to make healthier food choices by providing weekly coupons for milk, bread and eggs at our local Family Fare store, and coupons for meat, cheese, fruits and vegetables at our local Farmer's Market. Finally, we have demonstrated that difficult community problems can be addressed by concerned, ordinary people.
More about the SPCA...
The SPCA of Southwest Michigan is dedicated to working for the well-being of animals and creating an adoption-focused community in Southwest Michigan. Our goal is to end senseless animal euthanasia in SW Michigan, and provide all animals with a loving, caring home.
THE SPCA of Southwest Michigan is a nonprofit animal welfare organization — a no kill shelter — that has been rescuing homeless cats and dogs since 2002. The SPCA Southwest Michigan is not a county pound facility, but has a cooperative relationships with many of these agencies throughout the region to help save lives.
Every animal’s well-being is our main goal and each animal is provided with medical care, and daily environment enrichment and socialization. Adoption fees help cover the cost of medical services, ranging from basic vaccinations to serious, life-saving surgeries. However, fees only cover a portion of our expenses — which is why we depend on private donations.
Animal welfare is more than just saving those that need help now, it’s preventing animals from ending up in desperate situations. Educational programs, spay and neuter to prevent pet overpopulation, providing pet food to local food banks to reduce pet relinquishment, and offering temporary housing resources for the elderly — are some of the things that set SPCA Southwest Michigan apart from other area organizations.