Recognizing those who improve our communities
On behalf of everyone at Medical Mutual, along with our co-founding partner, Smart Business, we welcome you to the 9th annual Pillar Award for Community Service.
For nearly a decade, we have honored many great companies and organizations whose employees have gone above and beyond to invest their time and resources in supporting our community. At Medical Mutual, we strive to live up to that responsibility in everything we do and have a strong commitment to improving Central Ohio and the communities that we serve.
One of the Pillar Awards that will be presented at the event is a special honor given to a company whose employees best exemplify the values of Medical Mutual’s own Employee SHARE Program. SHARE stands for serve, help, aid, reach and educate.
What started as a small committee of generous employees more than 21 years ago has grown to become the heart and soul of Medical Mutual’s charitable giving effort. Today, through employee-led volunteer projects, SHARE committees in each of our business resource groups and our new volunteer paid-time-off initiative, every one of the company’s 2,400 employees has the opportunity to engage in numerous community events each year.
It’s truly an honor to be in the company of such outstanding organizations that exemplify the theme of “improving the communities we serve” by encouraging a charitable environment and directly supporting the communities in which they live and work. On behalf of Medical Mutual and Smart Business, we congratulate all our 2018 Pillar Award recipients.
Rick Chiricosta
Chairman, president and CEO
Medical Mutual of Ohio
Pillar Award Honorees
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Fran Horowitz, CEO
www.abercrombie.com
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. associates are “hooked on the magic of camp” through SeriousFun Children’s Network, which provides medically safe and free camping experiences for children with serious illnesses and their families.
Since Fran Horowitz joined A&F in 2014, she has been integral to growing its philanthropic partnerships. She became CEO in February 2017.
A&F Gives Back has grown from 600 volunteer hours in 2013 to over 20,000 hours in 2016, while the total amount donated increased from $2.35 million to $6.64 million. In 2016, A&F announced a five-year partnership with SeriousFun that provides $1.5 million in cash and $1.5 million in goods and services each year. Horowitz-Bonadies serves on the nonprofit’s national board.
Through the camp counselor program that has grown to 100 people, associates also are selected to spend a week at camps within the network without cost or using vacation days. Many of these associates continue to volunteer afterwards.
Locally, during the past six years, A&F has contributed over 7,000 hours of volunteer time and more than $1.8 million in cash and goods to Flying Horse Farms.
A&F also provides a volunteer day off to full-time associates; hosts biannual philanthropy fairs; and sends out quarterly newsletters that highlight philanthropy opportunities. The company gives to Operation Warm, does an anti-bullying campaign through Hollister Co., and donates to Nationwide Children’s Hospital and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
Acloché LLC
Kimberly A. Shoemaker, CEO
www.acloche.com
For nearly 50 years, Acloché LLC has given back to the communities that its clients and associates live and work in.
Acloché, led by CEO Kimberly A. Shoemaker, is part of mentoring programs to help students hone their interviewing and job-seeking skills. The company regularly sponsors career workshops and gives presentations on job search processes, interviewing tips, dressing for success and resume writing. In 2017, Acloché was a member of the Shark Tank judging panel for the NAWBO Columbus Young Entrepreneurs Academy.
Acloché employees regularly partner with workforce development centers to provide free training for resume writing, job search, interviewing and employer expectations/work behaviors. Acloché also has offered free resume writing and career counseling to veterans in November and put on community career expos.
Each year, Acloché sponsors a school supply giveaway to help hundreds of employees with back-to-school costs.
Acloché coordinates several company-sponsored volunteer events, and its employees are active in Central Ohio organizations. These include the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure Columbus, United Way of Central Ohio, Mid-Ohio Foodbank, FireFighters 4 Kids, Faith Mission, Food Pantry Network of Licking County, March of Dimes, Run Down the Demons, Wounded Warrior Project, Ronald McDonald House of Central Ohio and many Central Ohio humane societies.
The company also has formed and continues to build upon partnerships with Lifetown Columbus, She Has a Name and Jewish Family Services.
Cardinal Health
George S. Barrett, chairman
www.cardinalhealth.com
Each year, hundreds of nonprofit organizations around the globe benefit from Cardinal Health employees’ service and commitment to community. Each leadership development program at the company, from interns to vice president-level leaders, includes opportunities to volunteer. As a result, more than 70 percent of the company’s employees volunteer.
Cardinal Health is a global, integrated health care services and products company, and its employees are actively engaged in education initiatives, fighting hunger and homelessness, ending poverty, fighting substance abuse, and supporting medical research, animal rights organizations and numerous arts organizations.
The Cardinal Health Foundation commits to matching personal contributions of up to $2,000 per employee per year, and awards leadership and team grants as well. In 2016 alone, employees’ gifts, combined with the match, amounted to nearly $3 million in donations. Employees’ scope and reach have continued to expand internationally to include most of the countries in the Cardinal Health footprint.
The Cardinal Health Foundation, for example, began generously donating to Flying Horse Farms in 2010 and hasn’t stopped, most recently funding psychosocial services and child life specialist training. Other services include a workplace-giving program, sponsoring fundraising events, donating more than 300 volunteer hours in 2017 and assisting with staff recruitment and professional development. Cardinal Health Chairman George S. Barrett has co-chaired the annual Campfire event, served on SeriousFun Children’s Network’s board of directors and supported the camp personally.
Discover Financial Services
Michael Daverio and Keith Carroll, vice presidents of operations
www.discover.com
Discover Financial Services is committed to being a good corporate citizen and making a difference. The 2,300 employees at the New Albany campus, under the direction of Michael Daverio and Keith Carroll, vice presidents of operations, actively support local nonprofits and have volunteered more than 2,190 hours this past year.
In New Albany, Discover adopted Marburn Academy as part of its Success in Schools program. This support helped purchase furniture and fund renovations and improvements enabling the school to accommodate students with learning disabilities. In addition, Discover helps fund programs that offer a place for children to stay before and after school. As part of Discover’s partnership with the National Hockey League, the company brought the Stanley Cup to the academy in March 2017 and employees also helped with school beautification projects.
Discover partners with Junior Achievement for financial education workshops. More than 25 employees volunteered at eight schools. Discover also has supported Habitat for Humanity MidOhio for nearly 10 years, helping build 15 homes.
Discover has a long-standing relationship with Make-A-Wish, sponsoring local children’s wishes and hosting parties to enhance their wish experience. With company funding and support, employees also participate in local JDRF walks to fund research for a Type 1 diabetes cure and volunteer at the Children’s Hunger Alliance.
Beyond volunteerism, Discover provides ongoing support to the Plain Township Fire Department and the New Albany Police Department’s DARE program.
Grange Insurance
John Ammendola, president and CEO
www.grangeinsurance.com
One of Grange Insurance’s five core values is to “do the right thing.” This drives the company’s commitment to serving the communities in which it operates, including dedicating resources to dozens of Central Ohio nonprofits annually.
Grange is known for its multi-faceted community relations program that includes financial support, in-kind donations, nonprofit event space donation and volunteerism. Grange supported more than 60 community organizations in 2016 alone with approximately $684,000 in donations. Employees volunteered over 6,400 hours — more than doubling volunteer hours from the previous years.
For several years, Grange has “adopted” Fairwood Alternative Elementary School, sending associates to tutor third graders in reading. Grange associates also teach Junior Achievement programs, take on Meals-on-Wheels routes for LifeCare Alliance, participate in company-hosted American Red Cross blood drives and partner with the YMCA on community cleanup projects. Additionally, approximately half of its executives serve on the boards of more than 40 Central Ohio nonprofits.
In 2016, Grange set an all-time United Way campaign record after more than 50 years of hosting campaigns and partnered with The Columbus Foundation to launch Grange Insurance Gives, a donor-advised fund that will better leverage company resources.
Grange also administers ongoing support to the Grange Insurance Audubon Center. An initial contribution of $4 million from Grange paired with community support transformed the area into a beautiful facility and natural oasis.
Health Giving
William “Bill” Mountcastle, president
www.health-giving.com
President William “Bill” Mountcastle believes businesses should act socially responsible, which is why Health Giving supports local and national charitable organizations. Its small team of Columbus-based employees receive two paid days out of the office to volunteer with a nonprofit.
Mountcastle founded the Powell company in 2013. Health Giving helps nonprofit hospitals and health care organization raise philanthropic investment to advance medical science, health education and patient care. It has worked with more than 50 organizations.
The company funds a full education scholarship to the Ohio Association for Healthcare Philanthropy conference and provides a discounted rate for all Ohio AHP members to attend Health Giving’s annual Health Philanthropy Summit, a day of intensive educational training. At a national level, Mountcastle puts on an annual pro-bono education workshop through the AHP Foundation to help fundraisers and grant-makers advance their knowledge about philanthropy and charitable giving.
Health Giving also supports the YWCA Family Center in Columbus with donations, and employees have volunteered to prepare and serve meals, unloaded supplies and organized an ongoing toiletry drive.
The company has been involved with other Central Ohio philanthropic initiatives, such as Pelotonia, Mount Carmel Foundation and Goodwill Columbus. It supports national nonprofits and programs that positively impact patients and health care like the National Patient Safety Foundation and Patient Advocate Foundation.
Huntington Bancschares Inc.
Stephen D. Steinour, chairman, president and CEO
www.huntington.com
Huntington Bancschares Inc., under the direction of Chairman, President and CEO Stephen D. Steinour, has a long history of community support. Huntington believes that developing relationships and investing in local nonprofits builds healthy and vibrant communities. Regional and community executives meet monthly to evaluate charitable grant requests.
Huntington provides donations to approximately 150 organizations, board service to more than 160 nonprofits and volunteers with about 60 organizations in the areas of arts and culture, community and social services, economic and community development, financial education, and housing and community revitalization.
One example is a program made possible by a $900,000 grant to OhioHealth. A mobile medical home, Wellness on Wheels Primary Care, delivers primary care service to residents of Hilltop and surrounding areas. Hilltop has a lack of primary care physicians, an overuse of emergency departments for non-emergent issues and already had a trusted partner, Hilltop YMCA, to use as a base.
The program started in January 2017 and over the first eight months, the team provided more than 270 primary care visits and completed more than 50 home visits to help patients develop treatment plans to better manage their chronic conditions and overall health. OhioHealth WOW-PC sees patients regardless of a patient’s ability to pay. A community health worker assists patients with access to food, prescriptions and referrals to other community services like substance abuse prevention and treatment.
King Business Interiors
Darla King, president and owner
www.kbiinc.com
The core of King Business Interiors’ business is about relationships, reflected in the way it treats clients, employees and friends. Giving back to the community isn’t an initiative or a program — it’s part of the company’s identity.
Each year, the company, led by President and Owner Darla King, hosts a holiday charity event, Create for a Cause, which features and benefits a Columbus nonprofit. The evening includes a silent auction of artistic ceramic plates painted by clients, employees, friends and family of King. All proceeds are donated.
In addition to Create for a Cause, King’s Connecting the Dots program eliminates the cost and headaches of furniture disposal for clients while benefiting organizations with much-needed workplace resources.
The company identifies gently used furniture, equipment and accessories, reaches out to leaders of local nonprofits and invites organizations to view and select the furniture they want. Then employees pack, deliver and install the used furniture at each location, while providing clients with an itemized list of their tax-deductible furniture donation.
Approximately 1,200 furniture items have been donated to 118 Central Ohio organizations.
King is also recognized by the City of Columbus as a GreenSpot, which means an organization-wide commitment to green practices like recycling, tracking monthly waste and complying with local and federal environmental regulations.
Mills James
Cameron James, president and CEO
www.millsjames.com
Mills James supports local nonprofit and community service organizations by donating pro bono services these organizations couldn’t otherwise afford — fundraising videos, recognition events for donors, mission presentations and other media materials. Over the past two years, Mills James has provided support of more than $253,000 to over 25 organizations.
For example, Mills James helped St. Stephen’s Community House, a hub for advancing self-sufficiency in the Greater Linden community, raise funds at its Bravo! for the Children event to support afterschool programming that focuses on STEM education. The video helped make the evening a success and will enable St. Stephen’s to connect people to its mission year-round.
Mills James also donated production services to The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute to create a video-based intervention to be shared via text message and social media. It will help promote genetic testing in families that carry a gene mutation that puts them at high risk for ovarian and breast cancer.
Mills James, co-founded by Ken Mills and Cameron James, president and CEO, has a long record of providing nonprofit support over its 33-year history. Today, it’s 100 percent employee owned, and associates are heavily involved in charitable causes like Future Possibilities Inc., Lifeline of Ohio, Byron Saunders Foundation, Honor Flight Columbus, Pelotonia and Salvation Army red kettles.
WCMH NBC4
Ken Freedman, vice president and general manager
www.nbc4i.com
In the past year alone, WCMH NBC4 provided support to help raise over $500,000 for organizations such as the Mid-Ohio Foodbank, the Cancer Support Community and the American Red Cross. This support stocked more than 650 food pantries across Central Ohio, delivered comfort to individuals and families dealing with the harsh realities of cancer, and provided critical disaster relief support, sending donations and thousands of needed items to the victims of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.
The WCMH team also assisted in collecting toys and gifts for FireFighters 4 Kids so that Central Ohio children can receive holiday gifts.
As an integral part of the community, the NBC4 team has repeatedly demonstrated what it means to turn compassion into action. For example, in June, NBC4 was part of the Founder’s Day of Caring, launched by parent company Nexstar Media Group, where employees could volunteer for up to four hours. The NBC4 team choose to help at Local Matters and Ronald McDonald House of Central Ohio.
With the encouragement of Vice President and General Manager Ken Freedman, each team member supports causes and initiatives they’re passionate about, which has resulted in hundreds of organizations receiving financial and volunteer support, increased awareness and a voice for important issues. More importantly, the philanthropic actions of WCMH has made a difference in hundreds of thousands of lives in Central Ohio neighborhoods.
