Growing the Good

The Chicagoland Food and Beverage Network brings together companies in Chicago's bustling food industry to help Chicago become "The Silicon Valley of Food & Beverage." When the pandemic increased food insecurity, they leveraged their Bigger Table initiative to bring healthy food to people in need.

Life Care Services knows that the seniors living in its communities are counting on them to keep them safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. As the holidays are approaching, Joel Nelson and his employees have re-imagined how they operate so their residents and their families can stay connected while staying healthy.

Brady Corporation manufacturers thousands of products used in the healthcare industry; including critical testing kits for COVID-19. As the pandemic grew, Michael Nauman and his leadership team tapped Brady's best asset, its employees, to quickly come up with new innovations to address the unique safety issues brought on by COVID-19.

When Carol Lee saw how the economic downturn was impacting the Chinatown community, she knew the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation could help. They put programs together to help individuals in need, while at the same time helping local businesses keep their doors open.

Ken Keelor and the Calgary Co-op have always put their community first. As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, they knew they could play an important role in not only helping feed the communities they serve, but also to help their members contribute to in-demand charitable organizations.

While some industries came to a standstill during the pandemic, Many of The Hub Group's customers were deemed essential to support consumer demand. Dave Yeager and his team had to keep freight moving while managing the health of their employees.

As an essential business, Alpha Baking needed to keep up with customers' orders. To do so, CEO Larry Marcucci had to keep his employees, including hundreds of delivery drivers, healthy and safe.

World's Finest Chocolate helps youth organizations raise money by selling candy bars. With empty schools and full hospitals, Ed Opler and his team found a way to spread some joy to healthcare workers and keep his employees working.

As a chicken producer, Brakebush Brothers is used to feeding customers. As the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Scott Sanders knew his company was in a unique position to help local communities, while keeping his employees and their families fed and healthy.

Matt Hanson has empowered the employees at the Bernard Group to bring ideas to help the company grow. As COVID-19 expanded into the U.S., the employees worked together to quickly add safety equipment to the core products they produce to help keep people safe

The United Way of Metro Chicago has always had a mission to help the people and the neighborhoods most in need. But as racial tensions and civil unrest hit those very neighborhoods, Sean Garrett saw the needs increase, but so did the support they received.

A longstanding staple of summers in Milwaukee and a significant economic contributor to the state of Wisconsin, the Milwaukee World Festival has continued its engagement in the community by helping those who help others.

As hospitals run out of beds to treat COVID-19 patients, Gerry Price and Price Industries provide HVAC systems to make even the air in a hotel room as clean as a hospital room.

Answering a need for critical healthcare equipment, Craig Parsons added hospital intubation boxes to the transmissions and axles his company normally manufactures.