The Welsh Wire: Jennifer Swan and Carrie Hoch-Mortlock of TowerPinkster and James Devers of CIS Kalamazoo

Thanks to the support of her TowerPinkster co-workers, Jennifer Swan implemented an award-winning workplace program that raises money for needy Kalamazoo schoolchildren.

Swan, who is Senior Architectural Project Coordinator for TowerPinkster, was recognized this year with a CHAMP Award by the Communities in Schools (CIS) of Kalamazoo. Her workplace program is called the Swan Snack Emporium. She buys snacks on sale — granola bars, microwave popcorn, Pop Tarts — and makes them available to her co-workers, who in turn make a donation that goes to the CIS Kid’s Closet. The Kid’s Closet provides needy children with items like socks, underwear, toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant and soap.

Do her co-workers like to buy healthy snacks at the Emporium? “No, they don’t buy any of that stuff,” laughs Swan. “When you put it out there they want Pop Tarts and chips and candy bars.”

Giving back is an important core value for TowerPinkster. “We actively support the communities in which we live, work and play,” says Carrie Hoch-Mortlock, Manager of Human Resources for TowerPinkster. “And so as a company, we feel it really is our responsibility to our staff to expose them to what community opportunities exist out there, kind of what that looks like and feels like. And so anything from industry events, to just supporting the local nonprofit organizations, we really just try to get our folks out there and really experience what it’s all about.”

The generosity of Jennifer Swan and her fellow TowerPinkster employees is much appreciated by CIS. “It inspires our staff when we see people in the community, organizations in the community that take the extra mile,” says James Devers, Executive Director of CIS of Kalamazoo.

Listen to Sheri’s entire interview with Jennifer Swan, Carrie Hoch-Mortlock, James Devers.

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