Greek philosopher Aristotle once said, “What is the essence of life? To serve others and to do good.” Over two millennia later, author H. Jackson Brown Jr. added to that advice with some of his own: “Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.” Area businesses seem to know this, and that the more they give, the more they gain.
Compassion Endodontics
At Compassion Endodontics in Spring Township, giving to the community is all part of the job – as well as in the name.
“As our name implies, we believe everyone is created in the image of God and therefore has value and is worthy of compassion,” says Dr. Tom Graham, who opened his business in January 2021. “We strive to treat all of our patients and the community with this in mind.”
For that reason, Dr. Graham says they have partnered with Hope Rescue Mission, an organization that has been helping the men of Berks County for 125 years.
“For every root canal performed, a man experiencing homelessness is sheltered overnight and fed three meals in an emer-gency shelter program,” he continues.
Through this program, Dr. Graham says Compassion Endodontics has helped fund more than 2,400 meals for the men at Hope Rescue Mission.
Compassion Endodontics also partners with Richie’s Wish and Canine Companions for Independence.
Richie’s Wish is a local nonprofit caring for Berks County foster children and their foster families. This program is near and dear to Dr. Graham and his wife since they adopted three children from South Korea.
He says they wanted to care for local orphans and foster children, too.
“One of the ways we show compassion at our office is by providing a therapy dog for patients,” Dr. Graham explains. “Eddie was trained through Canine Companions and is truly a remarkable animal that gives comfort and support to our patients.”
Dr. Graham says they decided to bring Eddie to the office because they know that root canals can be scary. So now Eddie comes into the office every month. He and his handler, Jim, sit in the waiting room to greet and visit with patients.
“We thought Eddie would be an immediate comfort and positive distraction for patients who were anxious,” he says. “Patients can visit with Eddie before and after their treatment.”
And Eddie’s presence is making a big difference in the emotional well-being of patients, helping them to be more relaxed and calmer.
As a trained, certified therapy dog, Eddie has a busy schedule, also working at three hospitals, as well as several senior living facilities and libraries. Compassion Endodontics enjoys Eddie’s company and honors him by financially supporting the Canine Companions program, which is a national organization that provides service dogs at no cost to people with disabilities and to veterans.
Tompkins Community Bank
Giving back is something Tompkins Community Bank has been doing for generations, says Paula Barron, SVP of community banking.
“One of our core values is commitment to the community,” she continues. “It’s not just something we say. We live it and breathe it every single day.”
According to Barron, the company sees it as the responsibility of corporations and individuals to be good community citizens and to do their part to help.
“At Tompkins, this has always been part of our identity,” she says. “It’s simply part of our culture and fabric to give back. Supporting the community helps it thrive and then all of our friends and neighbors benefit.”
Barron adds that if more people give back through philanthropy and volunteerism, communities will grow stronger and stronger every year.
The charitable efforts at Tompkins are varied, from supporting human services organizations and the arts, to community revitalization and beyond. She says they do their best to offer a well-rounded approach to their giving to help create a stronger, more effective community.
Deciding on who to support and partner with is a group effort. “We talk to our people and community partners to assess the needs of the community,” she says.
One piece of this is to try to support nonprofit organizations that have an existing relationship with Tompkins. For nonprofits that choose to put their faith in the business to help with their banking needs, they are sure to give back and support their efforts.
“As a community bank, we also frequently partner with organizations we don’t already know,” she explains. “If there’s a community need, we step up as much as we can to support it.”
Tompkins has committed more than $300,000 in 2020-2021 donations to nearly 50 youth education organizations that qualify under the Pennsylvania Educational Improvement Tax Credit program. The donations are given to pre-kindergarten scholarship and educational improvement initiatives throughout the bank’s Southeastern Pennsylvania marketplace. Overall, Tompkins Financial Corporation commits more than $1 million in sponsorships and donations throughout the communities they serve. In 2019, before the pandemic, employees volunteered more than 10,000 hours with local nonprofit organizations to make a positive impact on those needing it most.
“One of our focus areas is food insecurity, and we’re grateful to support local food banks in Berks County,” she adds. “They do such important work to feed those who need it most.”
Tompkins VIST Bank has recently rebranded to Tompkins Community Bank and has been part of the Berks County community for over 110 years.
Gage Personnel
For West Reading-based Gage Personnel, giving to the community has been part of the company since day one.
“As a local family-owned business, we care deeply about our community,” Kristi Gage-Linderman, chief operating officer says, adding because of that, they feel it’s important to help and give back.
In 1990, Bill and Gwen Gage founded the Blue Jeans for Babies Campaign for the March of Dimes, which started in Berks County, but has since become a national campaign raising millions of dollars across the country.
Because there are so many ways to support the community, Gage-Linderman says as a business they had to decide how to best allocate their giving. So, in 2018, they created the Gage Giving Program, which outlined their philosophy.
The Giving Program Mission Statement explains that “Gage is committed to serving the needs of our community through the investment of our time, talent and resources. Our Corporate Giving Program is directed towards giving to organizations that address the vital needs of our community and support our overall mission, vision and values.”
And Gage’s mission continues even in the harder times.
“Even though the market has been tough, we still make an effort to give back thorough our time, talent and resources,” says Gage-Linderman. “We’ve done collection drives for various organizations, etc. Our team also sits on various boards and organizations.”
In 2020, Gage ran a campaign asking those placed through Gage to tell the training company how their career benefitted from working with them. If their story was selected, each winner would split $500 with the charity of their choice. Gage was able to give back to the Animal Rescue League of Berks County, Anthony Myers Foundation and Safe Berks.
Gage-Linderman adds that they also created the Reading High School Career Program with Reading High School as a new effort to connect students with local employers, and they are looking forward to seeing that evolve in 2022.
New Castle Lawn & Landscape
According to co-owner Brad Stephenson, New Castle Lawn & Landscape in Birdsboro has always been involved in the local community. However, more recently, it became glaringly evident how many local organizations needed help as the landscaping company was pressed with a historically high demand for services.
“We wanted to be a part of something good in our community,” he explains.
Stephenson says they learned about Helping Harvest needing CDL drivers during the pandemic.
“They had plenty of food to distribute but were short on the manpower to get it to the people who needed it,” he says. “Several of our team members have their CDL license so we felt this is where we could help, so we put on our ‘driver hats’ and assisted with food distribution.”
Since then, team members have continued to help whenever they can at Helping Harvest.
Stephenson says they also look to donate their time and services whenever a particular skill set is needed. Most recently, New Castle was able to help Dayspring Homes, a local nonprofit organization that provides housing to support people with special needs.
“They needed a concrete walkway expanded so one of their residents could safely access his home in his wheelchair,” he explains. “We were able to donate a crew and the necessary materials to get the job done.”
Stephenson says the New Castle team has also helped during the Christmas holiday, sponsoring families in need through the United Way and organizing a gift drive for residents at Safe Berks.
New Castle also supports the fishing rodeo for the VFW, the Wine, Women, & Shoes Event for Opportunity House, and sports teams throughout various school districts and Phoebe Ministries Events, as well as donating free mowing services to the Twin Valley Baseball Association.
Stephenson says the business participated in the Pollinating Penn Street Initiative, designing and planting pollinator gardens on the rooftop of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Reading.
“We hosted a book drive among our employees to help refill the Do It Local free libraries around Berks County,” he says.
One other initiative they put in place two years ago was aligning with a global nonprofit called One Tree Planted to plant one tree for every tree the landscaping company removed. Because of this new initiative, Stephenson says they have planted $730 worth of trees through this partnership.
“We do as much as we can in a year,” he explains, noting that some projects are larger than others. “Throughout the year, you will find a New Castle team at a local run or walk benefitting charities, such as KidsPeace or Suicide Awareness, to name a few.”
