Acts of Service, a volunteering program initiated by Lippert Components which has inspired half a million hours of volunteerism in northern Indiana, is being handed off to the Community Foundation of Elkhart County.
LCI started Acts of Service in 2017 as a way to inspire its team members to volunteer in the community and handed over coordination of the program on Dec. 2.
“The plan all along was to get as many businesses – both locally and regionally and nationally – involved in the initiative,” LCI VP of Marketing and Public Relations Jarod Lippert told RV PRO in a phone interview Monday afternoon. “To really expand it to where we wanted it to go, we were going to need a little bit of help. Having a dedicated company like the Community Foundation of Elkhart County was the perfect fit. We were just thinking businesses. They’re thinking about getting churches involved and schools and a lot of other groups like Rotary and Kiwanis. It would expand the program to something bigger than Lippert could have ever done.”
CEO Jason Lippert challenged those who work for his company to give back by volunteering for a total of 100,000 hours in the first year of Acts of Service, and they succeeded and successfully doubled that amount in the second year.
Since then, 34 other businesses have joined LCI in encouraging their employees to give volunteer time to non-profits across the South Bend-Elkhart region. More than 100 non-profit entities have become part of the network of recipients, and hundreds more have been the recipients of projects ranging from remodeling to clean-up by teams of volunteers.
Since its inception, more than 500,000 hours have been given back to local communities via Acts of Service. LCI is handing off the program and its coordination to the Community Foundation of Elkhart County to ensure its ongoing growth.
“We’re extremely proud of the initiative we’ve started for our community, and the fact that we’ve inspired so many other companies to start their own service hours initiatives to help the community is amazing, and is one of our biggest accomplishments as a company, to date,” said Jason Lippert. “At the end of the day, I get most excited about leaving lasting marks that will improve our communities for generations to come, and Acts of Service is certainly one of them. We know the service is in great hands, and we’re excited to see it continue to flourish through the support of the Community Foundation of Elkhart County.”
Community Foundation President Pete McCown said he and his team are pleased to receive the gift of this successful program.
“During the holiday season, people think a lot about giving. Acts of Service has made giving back to our community a year-round activity as people give of their time,” he said. “As we try to inspire generosity and open doors for people and agencies in our community, we are thrilled that Lippert Components is entrusting us with sustaining this great program.”
“Acts of Service has truly been a labor of love,” said Michilah Grimes, director of corporate and community impact at LCI. “To see this vision become a reality and to see the impact and support of our community has been humbling. It’s been an honor to spearhead the philanthropic initiatives through Acts of Service. LCI would like to thank the countless individuals and businesses who’ve helped grow Acts of Service.”
Jarod Lippert acknowledged that handing over something that has been such a labor of love like Acts of Service is a little bittersweet, but that knowing the impact on the community will be such a permanent, positive one, makes it also a moment of satisfaction.
“It’s really an integral part of what we are,” he said.
He also gave credit to Grimes and Lippert employee Ashley Jordan for helping to get other employees to buy into the program and make it a success.
Jordan will be moving over to the Community Foundation to help transition the program.
The website www.ActsOfService.com and its accompanying mobile app will remain the key resources for agencies to apply for assistance and to log volunteer hours.
