LOWRY SOLUTIONS DONATES MEALS TO GLEANERS FOOD BANK

Brighton, MI – February 7, 2019 – Lowry Solutions has raised more than 27,000 meals for Gleaners Community Food Bank (Gleaners) through a company-wide community outreach. The company held its annual food drive, resulting in a total of 27,300 meals for 2018. The company has been raising meals for Gleaners for more than 4 years.

“We are pleased to present this record number of meals to Gleaners, stated Mike Lowry, CEO, Lowry Solutions. “We recognize that giving back to the community is an essential part of our business. We fully support Gleaners and their mission to fight hunger for those less fortunate in our area.”

“We are so grateful for the long-standing and impactful partnership with Lowry Solutions because their contribution this year of 27,300 meals was crucial in our mission to achieve a food-secure community,” said Bridget Brown, Director of Donor Relations & Livingston Operations, Gleaners Community Food Bank.  “It’s especially important during this time of year when struggling families are facing painful tradeoffs such as paying for heat or putting food on the table. With the brutal winter we’ve been experiencing this year, Lowry’s donation has brought some peace of mind and relief to our neighbors in need.”

Lowry is committed to giving back to the community through their #LowryGivesBack program. They have created outreach initiatives that support other organizations in and around Livingston County. The Gleaners partnership is just one of several fundraisers and outreach alliances that Lowry hosts, along with an eight-year Intern Partnership with Pinckney New Tech High School and their signature “Jeans for Charity” Fridays with a 100% organizational match.

Strengthening Communities Through Long-Term Corporate Giving

Businesses have an important function of helping the communities that they do business in. Although producing innovative products and services is a core responsibility, by investing time, effort, and talent in initiatives that impact local communities, organizations can have significant societal impact. Community engagement is now recognized as an integral part of responsible business leadership and no longer simply a form of charitable activity done sporadically.

Companies, for instance, can partner with nonprofits for the long term and provide support beyond just writing a check. Employees participate in providing solutions to community challenges so that businesses are better connected with fellow citizens and local organizations for mutual benefit. Such partnerships yield long-term benefits that last far beyond a single fundraising effort.

Creating a Culture of Giving Within the Workplace

Encouraging employee involvement is one of the most effective means for organizations to boost community engagement. Providing a way to volunteer, donate, or lead fundraising activities therefore turns the giving into an ongoing effort for employees.

Organizations can motivate engagement by having programs such as:

• Company-wide food and clothing drives
• Volunteer service days
• Payroll donation campaigns
• Matching employee contributions
• Holiday giving initiatives
• Charity fundraising events
• Community clean-up projects
• School supply collections

This reinforces the team spirit and enables employees to support causes they actually care about. Participation is also a way to reaffirm shared organizational beliefs — focused as they are on caring, collaboration, and service.

Why Fighting Food Insecurity Matters

Food insecurity continues to affect millions of individuals and families across communities of every size. Economic uncertainty, rising living costs, unexpected medical expenses, and seasonal hardships can make it difficult for households to consistently access nutritious meals.

Food banks and community organizations help bridge this gap by assisting to:

By partnering with organizations focused on hunger relief, businesses contribute directly to improving quality of life while strengthening the resilience of their local communities.

The Lasting Impact of Corporate Volunteerism

Financial contributions are valuable, but volunteer work by employees often makes just as much difference. By volunteering, they support nonprofits to accomplish more while also improving their personal relationships within the communities they serve.

Volunteer opportunities may include:

• Sorting donated food
• Preparing emergency meal packages
• Organizing fundraising events
• Assisting community outreach programs
• Supporting educational initiatives
• Participating in neighborhood improvement projects

Allowing staff to actually see how their contributions improve the lives of others often leads to greater employee engagement.

Community Partnerships Build Stronger Organizations

Supporting nonprofit organizations also creates value within the business itself. Employees frequently report greater job satisfaction when working for organizations that actively invest in their communities.

Some of the long-term organizational benefits include:

• Improved employee morale
• Stronger workplace collaboration
• Increased employee retention
• Enhanced corporate reputation
• Greater community trust
• More meaningful stakeholder relationships

Customers, business partners, and prospective employees increasingly look for organizations that demonstrate authentic social responsibility. Consistent community involvement reflects a commitment to creating positive outcomes beyond financial performance.

Small Contributions Can Produce Significant Results

One of the greatest strengths of community fundraising is that many small contributions can collectively create a substantial impact. Whether employees donate food items, contribute financially, or volunteer a few hours of their time, every effort supports the larger mission.

Organizations often maximize these efforts by:

• Setting team fundraising goals
• Matching employee donations
• Hosting friendly department competitions
• Celebrating participation milestones
• Recognizing employee volunteers

These strategies encourage widespread involvement while making charitable giving accessible to everyone, regardless of contribution size.

Building Sustainable Community Relationships

One-off outreach events are not as effective — consistency is key to successful community outreach. Building long-term partnerships provides a way for businesses to listen and understand how the needs of nonprofit organizations are changing while offering support consistently throughout the year.

Sustained collaboration can include:

• Annual fundraising campaigns
• Ongoing volunteer programs
• Educational partnerships
• Workforce development initiatives
• Skills-based volunteer opportunities

Whenever calamities emerge, you are trained for disaster relief assistance.

Through repeated engagements, these relationships build better networks that help philanthropic nonprofits and their communities.

Inspiring Future Generations Through Corporate Leadership

Community engagement is also a strong model for prospective employees, business partners, and local organizational leaders. Companies that continually act in socially responsible ways set the example for encouraging others to get involved with philanthropy and civic engagement.

Companies with investment in communities regularly motivate:

• Employee leadership development
• Youth mentorship opportunities
• Educational outreach programs
• Collaboration with local schools
• Internship and career readiness initiatives
• Support for nonprofit innovation

This is part of my continued work to create stronger local economies while cultivating a culture of service that will span generations.

Measuring Success Beyond Business Performance

Standard business key performance indicators consider income, profitability, and operational performance. Engaging communities brings another critical indicator of success: difference made to people.

Organizations are also judging their outreach programs more and more on indicators such as:

• Volunteer hours contributed
• Community members served
• Meals provided
• Local organizations supported
• Employee participation rates
• Long-term partnership growth

Measuring these outcomes enables businesses to determine the impact of their investments on social change, while also incentivising ongoing engagement throughout the business.

Looking Ahead: Expanding Community Impact

Community engagement is a key ingredient of sustainable growth and responsible leadership as businesses evolve with society. Companies will backslide into milking profits from society. This is a common story that only delivers real value–value which lasts well beyond the workplace–when you enable organizations to invest consistently in these local partnerships.

Employee engagement, charitable giving, strategic partnerships, and long-term commitment can be successful combinations for companies to take on pressing community challenges while deepening the connections that unite business, nonprofit, and residents. Each volunteer experience, gift, and partnership plays a role in the creation of stronger, healthier communities that can provide people and families with better chances to succeed.

About Lowry Solutions

Lowry Solutions is a global systems integrator of complete IoT, RFID, managed print services, and barcode solutions for supply chain applications. As the industry leader for more than forty-five years, Lowry has been implementing real-time asset visibility solutions that simplify traceability and improve business outcomes through sustainable solutions. The company continues to evolve alongside its customers to provide the most complete and modern data collection, integration, and management solutions available. Lowry Solutions is headquartered in Brighton, Michigan.  For more information, please visit lowrysolutions.com or call 888.881.2477.

 About Gleaners Community Food Bank

For more than 40 years, Gleaners Community Food Bank has been “feeding hungry people and nourishing our communities.” Last fiscal year, Gleaners distributed more than 42 million pounds of emergency food to 499 partner schools, soup kitchens, shelters and pantries in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Livingston and Monroe counties. Of every dollar donated, Gleaners uses 96 cents for food and food programs. One dollar provides three meals for a hungry neighbor. To learn more, visit www.gcfb.org.