“If you are going to ask your community to buy local, then you need to be willing to serve local.” Our customer support manager, Lynnsay Macey, couldn’t have said it better! Here at Perry, being a part of our local community isn’t an obligation or a chore, it’s something that just seems natural.
It’s hard to find records of our involvement from early on, but you can see even in the 1940s when Perry was still Miller Printing, we were celebrating with our community in a parade on 1st street.
However, since Perry joined social media in 2009, it has been much easier to archive all the exciting things we have gotten to do over the years!
Our largest reoccurring contribution is something we call “Denim Donations.” Prior to 2009, employees could bring in cash every week or two in exchange for wearing jeans on Fridays, and this cash would be donated to different nonprofits in the area. Then at the end of the year, staff would pitch in around $20 to make an end-of-year holiday donation. Of course, that’s when everyone is already buying presents and getting ready for Christmas and stretching their dollars thin anyway, and jeans were part of the uniform for our distribution staff.
That’s why, starting in 2009, Perry officially started their “Giving Fund” program. When hired, employees are given the chance to enroll in the program and have $4 deducted from each paycheck to wear jeans on Fridays. It is completely voluntary, and employees can opt in or out at any point. Then, in December, Perry chooses several nonprofits to split the contributions between. When it first began, we were able to donate around $1,500 between three nonprofits, but as the program has grown, we are now able to donate over $3,000 at the end of each year!
Apart from this annual giving fund, Perry also loves to participate in volunteer events, collecting supplies, including canned goods and toiletries, sponsoring local golf tournament fundraisers, school sports teams, and charity events, and making frequent donations, either monetary or in kind, to our school districts and local nonprofits!
