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Allied Wire: tickled pink over the results of its fundraiser

Allied Wire & Cable staff and a reel named “Pink Betty” that helped raise funds for breast cancer awareness.

Allied Wire & Cable (Allied), specialty distributor and manufacturer of wire and cable, supports multiple causes, both national and local. Below, Chris Gefvert, director of marketing & ecommerce, provides an overview of some of the activities.


AWC has a tradition of giving. Each December, Allied’s six branches across the country “adopts” local families in need for the holidays. The chosen families in the surrounding community provide wish lists of food, clothing, household accessories and (equally important) children’s presents. Last year, over 100 Allied employees purchased the requested items themselves, and each office participated in the gift-wrapping event as part of the holiday celebrations.

For the past four year, Allied has supported breast cancer awareness and treatment. The star of the efforts is a sturdy, vibrant pink reel, nicknamed “Betty,” that is three times sturdier than its traditionally colored counterpart. It replaced one of the most popular and commonly used sizes: 12 x 8 x 5 in., and had a key role in October when we held our charity week fundraiser. To date, Allied has donated more than $60,000 to the cause as part of their Charity Week Fundraiser, as well as through the sales of our Pink Betty reels. To add to the total this year, customers were prompted to enter the word “Betty” into their PO and Allied donated a portion of the proceeds from the order to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Allied’s rollout of pink reels is just one of the company’s initiatives to give back to local and national communities. Thanksgiving is a way for everyone nationwide to express their gratitude and appreciation, and this year Allied teamed up with Comstar to support Philabundance, a local nonprofit food bank that serves families who face hunger. We donated an estimated six tons of turkey to various families in our community. With the help of a local grocery store (Giant Store #6317), we sent more than 650 20-pound turkeys directly to Philabundance.

Individual actions also count. Michael Herman, one of our purchasing managers, bicycled all 2,443 miles of Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica, California for a Charity called Radshare, which gives inner city kids bikes and helmets. Our entire organization got behind him and funded the journey, including PTO time, and donated $2,500 to the charity at the half-way point then another $1,500 when he finished his 26-day trip.

The charities benefit by our actions, but so do employees. “We often think that our work only affects the world of wire and cable, but the truth is that we can impact so much more than that,” said HR Analyst Bradley Warmhold. “I am very happy that Allied is community-focused, not just profit-focused.”

Added HR Director Tracey Mitchell, “The opportunity to improve someone’s life, even in the slightest way, is a privilege. Life can be challenging; a smile can brighten or change a person’s day. Morals and values I was raised with and have made sure to instill in my children, no matter what we have or do not have, we give to others.”


Manufacturers GIVING BACK

This is part 6 of Wire Journal International's first-ever feature presenting 16 manufacturers that have given back to their communities: hundreds others could just as easily have been here. Each entry has a unique story, yet the common thread is the people—of all ranks—who care about their companies as well as their communities. Big volunteer efforts deserve applause, but so do smaller ones as they all head in the same direction. In a time when there is seldom a lack of daunting news, one can take pride in the industry spirit.

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Companies Featured:
Hitachi Cable America (now Proterial Cable America), Viakable, Acme Wire Products, High-Performance Conductors (HPC), Kris-Tech, Allied Wire, Ulbrich Stainless Steels & Special Metals, Inc., Cerrowire, Belden, Fort Wayne Metals, Optimus Steel, Prysmian, Minnesota Wire, Southwire, Service Wire, Alloy Wire International
Bonus Content:
> Employer alert! Volunteers make for a better workforce.
> How can a small business start a ‘giving back’ program?

Read 681 times Last modified on December 22, 2022
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