Honorable mentions
Abuelo’s Mexican Food Embassy
When Abuelo’s Mexican Food Embassy opened its Warrensville Heights restaurant last January, it partnered with Providence House to raise funds through the restaurant’s pre-opening training services and donations from employees and guests.
During Abuelo’s pre-opening mock services, invitation-only events held during lunch and dinner over three consecutive days, it raised $5,500 for Providence House, a safe house for
women and children who are living in crisis situations and need immediate assistance.
“The local community came out in full force and showed outstanding support for Providence House,” says John Volpe, Abuelo’s general manager. “We were so pleased to be able to
benefit such a wonderful organization that does such great work for children.”
Among other community service work, Abuelo’s partners with a local day care facility in Garfield Heights to provide parents with Abuelo’s Kids Achievement Certificates that can be
redeemed for a complimentary children’s meal.
BlueBridge Networks
BlueBridge Networks, a technology data center, was founded less than three years ago, but the firm and its employees have already made a significant impact on Northeast Ohio by
giving back to the community.
CEO Neil Adelman and Director of Business Development Kevin Goodman tapped their extensive contact lists and business relationships and used the company’s offices to host two
health-related events this year — a blood drive for the American Red Cross and a health screening event for Life Line Screening, an organization that educates the public about risk factors and warning signs associated with vascular disease.
The one-day health screening event in August helped raise awareness among area businesspeople of the risks of stroke, aneurysms and other heart-related problems, and resulted in
more than 30 health screenings.
Brott Mardis & Co.
A key practice niche for Brott Mardis & Co., an Akron-based CPA firm, is its work for nonprofit agencies. So it is little surprise that good corporate citizenship has become an integral
part of its company culture.
Five years ago, Brott Mardis developed a charity golf outing that distinguishes itself from traditional nonprofit golf outing fundraisers. Each year, teams compete in the firm’s Charity
Golf Classic to win an opportunity to donate a percentage of the event’s total proceeds to the charity of their choice.
The first place team is allocated 50 percent of the proceeds, the second place team receives 30 percent to donate toward a nonprofit of its choice, and the third place team designates
20 percent of the proceeds to its chosen charity.
Every dollar generated — from registration fees to the 50/50 raffle — is included in the total proceeds awarded to charity. In the five years the event has been held, Brott Mardis has
raised more than $51,000 to help 12 regional, nonprofit organizations.
At the 2006 event, Brott Mardis’ largest to date, 108 golfers helped raise $15,905, which was donated to Archbishop Hoban High School, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum,
Akron Rotary Foundation and Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens.
Chipotle Mexican Grill
Chipotle Mexican Grill first got involved with Cleveland Scholarship Programs Inc., a Northeast Ohio nonprofit that connects individuals with educational opportunities, in 2000,
when the restaurant chain donated more than $10,000.
Within two years, Chipotle increased its involvement and became the title sponsor of CSP’s annual Malone Celebrity Golf Classic, an event founded by WMJI radio host Jimmy
Malone that includes golf, dinner and an auction to raise money to send deserving students to college. With the help of Chipotle’s title sponsorship, the golf tournament has raised
more than $1 million since 2002 for the April Malone Scholarship.
Each year, Chipotle also designates the Wednesday after the golf classic as “Honor Roll Day,” donating all proceeds from its 19 Cleveland-area restaurants to CSP. Combined,
Chipotle has donated more than $250,000 to CSP.
SS&G Financial Services
SS&G Financial Services has a long history of giving back to the communities where its employees live and work. Over the past decade, it has donated more than $225,000 to
the Alzheimer’s Association, its charity of choice.
The firm has also provided thousands of dollars of pro bono services and raised tens of thousand of dollars for nonprofits across Northeast Ohio, including Community Shares,
Harvest for Hunger and the Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Foundation. It also collected more than $7,500 in donations from employees — then matched that amount — to donate
toward Hurricane Katrina relief.
And last year, SS&G took its community service efforts global.
One of the firm’s employees was called up for active duty in the Air Force Reserves and sent to Afghanistan. The employee, who was involved with volunteer efforts locally, got
involved with similar efforts in Afghanistan. He spent his free time volunteering at children’s cardiac and cancer centers, as well as at an orphanage near his Afghanistan base.
SS&G staff members were so moved by his dedication — as well as his stories of the children who had nothing — that they organized a collection of toys, games, toiletries and
clothing to send overseas.
They collected 20 boxes of items weighing more than 500 pounds, which were shipped to the employee, who then distributed them to children in Afghanistan.