Philanthropic Printers — The Gift of Giving

THE SAYING “a little can mean a lot” isn’t just an inspirational cliché for some printers. It’s a way of life. Besides being passionate about printing, they are also passionate about giving of themselves to those less fortunate. The philanthropic printers highlighted here are but a small snippet of the countless men and women in printing who professionally serve their industry, while personally serving others in need.

He’s known as the “unofficial mayor” of Tempe, AZ, for all of his good deeds. Marcus Neuman, president of Graphics of Tempe, was hesitant about providing details (that would be published) about his philanthropic ways. “Providing this kind of information reminds me of when I won the award for being ‘The Most Humble Student’ in my school,” he quips, “and, when I proudly wore my ribbon, they took it away from me.”

Neuman stresses that he’s not very comfortable “bragging” about his charitable efforts because he doesn’t believe that being generous and wanting to help others is anything out of the ordinary.

“It is just a normal practice,” Neuman says of his contributions. “Quite simply, we feel it is a company’s responsibility to be a good steward to its community, whether it be donating printing, money or time. Some charities may have a pressing need for volunteers, so even if you don’t have much, you still may be able to give your time.”

Graphics of Tempe is a small company with only eight employees. During its monthly staff meetings, Neuman likes to give his employees credit for some of the good deeds they (as part of the company) are doing because, as he puts it, “the money is made by all of us, not just the ownership.”

Partnering with the Poor

As an example, he points to a trip he made this year. “I was able to go to Timbuktu, Mali, West Africa, as part of the Tempe Sister Cities program. (Tempe Sister Cities selects and partners with poor cities across the globe and offers assistance through its members’ volunteer efforts, financial donations, charitable acts, etc.) “Even though we are a small company, we can make a difference in our community and in the world.”

At Times Printing in Random Lake, WI, Shawn Scholler, president, takes special pride in his company’s ongoing participation in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. The printer has been actively involved in the relay for the past several years, and this year, it raised more than $5,000, making it the top local fund-raising team.

Random acts of kindness can be contagious, and Times employees caught “the fever of giving” a long time ago, Scholler says. Employees routinely host charity lunches, bake sales, ice cream socials and participate in scores of other benefits and fund raisers. Most recently, they led a charity walk to honor one of their own employees, Melodie Krier, who was stricken with Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS). The walk collectively raised more than $20,000.

Another way Times Printing gives back to its community (365 days a year) is by allowing the 20-plus volunteer firefighters and EMS technicians who work for the company to leave the plant whenever they’re needed—with pay. Ray Scholler, Times Printing’s CEO and a past Printing Impressions/RIT Printing Industry Hall of Fame inductee, is still an active member of the Random Lake Volunteer Fire Department and is one of the oldest active EMTs in the United States at 89 years of age.

The employees of Sterling, VA-based Colorcraft look forward to the holiday season each year, when their company teams with the local Head Start program to sponsor one or two needy families. “Most of the [sponsored] families live below the poverty level, and Colorcraft provides their entire Christmas needs, as well as cash for other necessities,” explains James Mayes Jr., president.

Mayes also serves as chairman of the Graphic Communications Advisory Board at the Monroe Technology Center, where he helps shape the future of the printing students enrolled there. Concerned that the state of Virginia used to have 22 graphic arts programs, but now has only five (which includes Monroe), Mayes provides internships at Colorcraft, donates ink, paper and textbooks to the school, and provides tours of his printing facility to Monroe students. Last year, Mayes even paid for one of Monroe’s teachers to attend a GATF seminar in Pittsburgh. Colorcraft also provides scholarships to Monroe students through the Printing Industries of Virginia, where he currently serves as chairman.

The McClung Companies of Waynesboro, VA, has a history of community involvement. As a “large local printer,” McClung supports a needy family in the Salvation Army’s Christmas program, has donated funds for Katrina relief and sponsors fund-raising events for the Greater Augusta (VA) Regional Chamber of Commerce.

It also raised record funds for the company’s United Way campaign, gives 10 percent of its net profits to community organizations, and donates printing to those same organizations. The company’s president/owner, Tom Trevillian, has also served on many non-profit boards, including the YMCA, United Way and Chamber of Commerce.

Training “Special” Youths

Of all its charitable acts, however, Trevillian admits that the most memorable and lasting effort involves the training and employment of a “special” student from the Woodrow Wilson Rehabilitation Center in Fisherville, VA. The McClung Companies has trained three students thus far, but this year’s pupil, a 20-year-old deaf mute originally from Ethiopia, made a lasting impression.

“Everyone at McClung would agree that we have been rewarded by our efforts to help Simon,” says Trevillian. “Each time our company has volunteered to train one of these students, it has been a valuable opportunity for us to grow in our abilities and teach our trade to a young person.”

John Rosenthal, president of Southampton, PA-based Digital Color Graphics, is the man with a plan and the generosity to carry it out. He has either served on the boards of many civic, social, religious and non-profit organizations or has worked closely with them, often providing their printed materials at discount prices (and sometimes for free, depending on need).

Some of these non-profits include the Red Cross, Ronald McDonald House of Philadelphia, MS Society and Linda Creed Breast Cancer Foundation. (Rosenthal’s wife is a breast and lung cancer survivor, which has inspired him to become active as a cancer research advocate and philanthropist.) Digital Color Graphics also gives a percentage of every dollar spent at the print shop to cancer research.

The cause closest to Rosenthal’s heart is the Gilda House of Bucks/Montgomery County (PA), named in memory of Gilda Radner, the famed Saturday Night Live star who died of ovarian cancer. Gilda Houses are located across the country and serve as cancer patient support centers that promote healing through social interaction and activity (in addition to traditional medical treatment).

Rosenthal has been involved with his local Gilda House for the past seven years, supporting the organization in various ways, including doing its printing, participating in fund raisers (the annual golf tournament is one of his favorites) and, most recently, donating 100 photographs that he took at Gilda House to the organization.

Another Pennsylvania printer, this one in Philadelphia, also donates a lot of printing to charitable organizations. In fact, the donations made by Pearl Pressman Liberty (PPL) Communications Group read more like a scroll than a contributor’s list. According to Elliot Schindler, executive vice president and principal, PPL’s 2007 contributions add up like this: $20,000 for printing/donating the Courageous Kids calendar for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; $5,000 (per year) for printing/donating the program for the annual Alzheimer’s Association Chocolate Symphony fund raiser; $7,500 for printing/donating the 2008 ALS calendar and $7,500 (per year) for printing/donating the Blind Relief Fund Annual Report.

Do the math: That’s $40,000 in donated printing, but the printer’s kindness isn’t exhausted yet. . .not by a long shot.

Two of the biggest contributions PPL makes involves co-sponsoring annual fund-raising events. For the Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation’s Annual Stair Climb, PPL donates the printing, but also serves as co-sponsor of the event, where participants climb 53 floors of the Mellon Bank to raise money ($100,000 was collected this year). PPL co-sponsors the ALS Phillies Phestival for the Fight Against Lou Gehrig’s Disease each year and donates the printed material promoting the event.

Additionally, the printer is actively involved in a non-profit organization that it founded, Partners by Design, which is a collaboration of printers, designers, binders and paper manufacturers that donates its services to local cultural institutions. PPL received a Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Award for creating and supporting the organization.

United for United Way

Gene Blanc, CEO/chairman of Davenport, IA-based Midland Information Resources, has his helping hands into almost everything. His company supports the United Way Rally Week by holding separate soup and ice cream sales, a white elephant auction and raffle drawing, all of which consist of employee and corporate donations. Midland also participates in the United Way Day of Caring that involves employees volunteering a half day of community service for needy neighborhoods.

Company workers also participate in local Junior Achievement (JA) events and activities, including teaching JA classroom programs, sponsoring two to three teams annually at the local JA Bowl-a-thon, hosting local eighth graders for the annual JA Job Shadow Day and sponsoring a hole in the JA Golf Tournament. Of course, Midland also provides corporate donations.

In addition to the company’s charitable activities, Blanc serves in an official capacity (board member, etc.), spearheads fund-raising events or is/was actively involved with numerous organizations. These include Western Illinois University-Quad City Campus, the Moline Foundation, Newspapers in Education, Skip A Long Child (Day Care) Development, City of Moline-Browning Park revitalization campaign, Moline Public Library Capital Campaign, Capital Campaign Committee for the Handicapped Development Center, Christian Friendliness Youth Training Center Capital Campaign, Quad City Arts, Student Hunger Drive (to support food banks), Arrowhead Ranch (for at-risk youths), Bethany Home (for needy families), American Heart Association, American Cancer Society Race for the Cure, Boy Scouts of America and the local Family Resources-Domestic Violence Shelter—to name a few.

“Gene is very strong in the spirit of giving, caring and sharing with the Quad City community,” says Diana Scott, Blanc’s assistant. “He is an individual who firmly believes in giving back, making a difference in the community and touching people’s lives.” PI

Helping Hands, Heart of Gold

You might recognize her face. Eileen Rogers was written up in the August issue of Printing Impressions. She’s affectionately known as “The Diaper Lady” because of the very visible Annual Baby Diaper Drive (www.babydrive.org) that she founded and spearheads.

Rogers, president of the Allegra Print & Imaging franchise in Scottsdale, AZ, started the annual diaper and baby goods collection for Homeward Bound, a transitional housing program for homeless families and families who have experienced domestic violence. Since the conception of the program in 1999, she has collected more than a half million diapers and $250,000 in donations.

However, Rogers’ heart goes out to children around the world, not only those in her local community in need of Pampers. In fact, she does a lot of other interesting social-impact work, including her humanitarian efforts with the Foundation for Global Leadership (FGL), which was founded in 2002 to better ensure sustainable leadership development and democracy.

“I have led four delegations to international destinations in the last four years—three trips to different areas in Africa and one to Cambodia,” she says. “I love to travel, and this allows me to combine that love with my passion for making a difference in the world.

“They are life-changing trips for many people,” Rogers claims. “My most recent trip (August ’07) was to Kenya and Uganda. We spent three days visiting with non-profit organizations and then three days on safari in the Maasai Mara.”

During her trip, Rogers met with the women members of the Kenyan Parliament, as well as the top women CEOs in that country. She visited Kibura—the largest slum outside of Nairobi (population 750,000), then chartered a plane to Kakcuma, which is a refugee camp in Northwest Kenya where the “Lost Boys of Sudan” live. Rogers also visited Girls’ Empowerment Clubs that are part of The Girl Child Network and visited Ashoke Entrepreneurial Fellow projects.

After the FGL portion of the trip, she flew to Uganda and spent three days with a family that she had been helping for the past three years (she met them on her first trip to Africa). “I lived in their home, and it was an incredibly humbling experience,” says Rogers.