Six teams with captains wearing hand decorated chefs hats were able to collect 6,111 pounds of food to donate from JEOL to the local food pantry.)
November 15, 2017 – Peabody, Mass. ---- The spirit of giving is getting competitive at JEOL USA headquarters in Peabody, Mass. JEOL employees were challenged to a food drive to support Haven from Hunger. Six teams competed for the heaviest donations – filling boxes with food staples that collectively weighed three tons.
The employees pitched in to load the Haven from Hunger truck that arrived for pickup the morning of Wednesday, November 15, and help unload it at the food pantry also located in Peabody. Haven from Hunger provides food to over 1,800 needy households and last year provided over 600,000 meals.
The Executive Director of Citizens Inn, which merged with Haven from Hunger this year, Corey Jackson, was on hand to help load the boxes, which took over a half hour. “This is incredible, we didn’t expect so much!” he said. “This is one of the largest corporate food drives we’ve ever seen.”
JEOL employees loaded the food pantry truck and helped unload it when it reached its destination.
JEOL USA takes its community service seriously, encouraging employees to volunteer for 8 hours each year during the work hours. Recent community service activities include painting bowls for Haven for Hunger’s Empty Bowl dinner, providing and carving pumpkins used at Massachusetts Audubon Ipswich River Wildlife’s Haunted Happenings fundraiser, and its annual “Adopt a Family” holiday giving to two local families in need.
“At our US corporate headquarters in Peabody our employees work to make a positive influence in our community,” says Director of Human Resources, Collette Hanlon. “This is kind of crazy, never in a million years did I expect this amount of food to be donated by our employees.”
To step up the food donation drive, JEOL offered the winning team a coveted prize: the opportunity to “dress down” and wear jeans and sneakers to work for a week.
JEOL employees loaded the food pantry truck and helped unload it when it reached its destination.
“We’re happy that we’re able to make some small impact on people’s lives that need our help, especially at this time of year. I’m amazed we were able to get three tons of food and I’m proud of all the employees banding together,” said JEOL USA President Pete Genovese.
A scientific instrument company with global headquarters in Japan, JEOL USA has been located at the Peabody site since the 1970s and employs approximately 110 people at this location, with another 200 employed throughout North and South America.