BuyThinkBeLocal – Mel Foster Co Blog

As a company with a long history of giving back to the communities they serve, Mel Foster Co. is proud to announce the results of its Think.Buy.Be.Local Small Business week challenge. Each year, Mel Foster Co. agents and staff are encouraged to support local businesses in the neighborhoods where they live, work, and play during Small Business Saturday. For 2022, Mel Foster Co. extended Small Business Saturday into a weeklong event to allow more visits to more local businesses.

To help promote the small businesses they love, the agents and staff snapped a photo of themselves shopping, posted to Facebook and tagged the local business and Mel Foster Co. To encourage participation and further support local businesses, Mel Foster Co. purchased gift cards from local businesses and the agent/staff member shopping and taking photos was entered into a company drawing for each posted photo.

To further help small businesses and add some fun for the company’s agents and staff, Mel Foster Co. provided each person with a custom Mel Foster Co. growler to fill with their beverage of choice from participating businesses. Thirteen local businesses from the Quad Cities and surrounding area joined in by providing growler fills of beer, cider, cold brew coffee, kombucha or soda purchased by Mel Foster Co.

Mel Foster Co. agents and staff supported over 160 small businesses during Think.Buy.Be.Local week. Lynsey Engels, president of Mel Foster Co. Real Estate Brokerage, stresses the importance of buying local. “We are a local, family-owned business, so we understand how important it is to shop local and use local service providers. When we all support each other with our business, we build a stronger community where more businesses and families can thrive. We understand the challenges many small business owners have faced in the last two years and know there are still challenges finding staff and sourcing supplies that have risen in cost. That’s why we dedicated a full week to supporting small businesses this year. It’s not something we just get on board with one day of the year or even one week each year. Supporting fellow small businesses is an important part of our culture, and we strive to Think.Buy.Be. Local throughout the year.”

Throughout its 100-year history, Mel Foster Co. has made it a priority to give back to the communities it serves. Today that tradition continues with the announcement that Mel Foster Co. is donating $100,000 to local charities and organizations. The company has selected 20 charities to receive gifts in 2021.

Mel Foster Co. agents and staff support many charities by participating in workplace donation drives held at each office throughout the year. “Our agents and staff are passionate about causes that help struggling families and children, veterans who battle addiction and homelessness and animals that need an advocate on their journey to their forever home. We know the causes they care about and encouraged them to nominate their favorite non-profits for our initiative. These submissions were compiled to create a list of 20 local charities. Agents and staff then voted to help determine the fund distribution,” explained Lynsey Engels, president, Real Estate Brokerage at Mel Foster Co.

With the selection of the John Deere Classic Platinum Tee Club as one of the top charities, the John Deere Foundation matches the donation and doubles the amount for Birdies for Charity, making it a $20,000 total gift.

Clair Peterson, John Deere Classic Tournament Director, said, ““We are so honored to be included in Mel Foster Co.’s generous charity initiative. The $10,000 they are donating to the John Deere Classic will make it possible for every organization that participates in our Birdies for Charity Program to get at least a 5% bonus. It is a real reminder of how important Mel Foster Co. is to our community, and we are thrilled to celebrate their 100^th anniversary the same year we celebrate our 50^th.”

To complement the corporate financial gifts to the community, Mel Foster Co. agents and staff pledge to donate 1,000 hours of volunteer service in 2021 to charities and organizations of their choice. Engels continued, “Not only do we see the generosity of our agents and staff when they fill a box with coats, food or school supplies, we see it throughout the community when they give their time to volunteer. It’s heartwarming to see how much they care and what a difference they make.”

“We are so grateful for Mel Foster Co. and their partnership. Not only are they stepping up to the plate in a major way financially, but they’re also willing to partner with us by putting boots on the ground and serving with their hands and feet. Their donation will help give us the resources to equip people for the workforce, provide essential needs to our community, and bring hope to people who need it the most,” commented Rusty Boruff, Executive Director at One Eighty.

Rob Fick, president and CEO of Mel Foster Co. added, “As a family-owned business for 100 years, we are committed to making a difference in the communities where we live and work. This important initiative will have a lasting impact on families and a lasting impact on everybody within the organization who contributed to making it happen.”

Mel Foster Co. is celebrating its 100-year anniversary through agent and employee, client and community events throughout the year. Be sure to follow our Facebook page, www.facebook.com/melfostercoinc to see our charity post updates. To learn more about Mel Foster Co., its people and giving back, visit www.melfosterco.com.

Tag: BuyThinkBeLocal

Small Business Week Success

MEL FOSTER CO. DONATING $100,000 AND 1,000 HOURS