One Friday in August 2019, a number of employees at Savannah, Ga.-based engineering firm Thomas & Hutton wore jeans to work.
Thomas & Hutton employees who participate in the weekly Jeans Day Fridays make a donation of at least $5 into the company’s nonprofit fundraising pool. On this particular Friday, the money went to the Myrtle Beach Therapeutic Riding + Vaulting Club, a nonprofit that provides horseback riding and vaulting for people with special needs.
But the firm’s involvement did not stop there. First, the $500 in donations were doubled by The Matching Fund through Donate2it, both run by Steve Dudash, regional director of Thomas & Hutton’s Charleston, S.C., office. The result was $1,000 in scholarships for families in need. Finally, employees in the company’s Myrtle Beach, S.C., regional office volunteered at the Myrtle Beach Therapeutic Riding + Vaulting Club, performing facility upkeep activities as part of the T&H Helping Hands program.
At Thomas & Hutton, this story repeats itself over and over again, with small actions across the company that eventually add up to a sizable impact for a bevy of nonprofit organizations.
“Giving back to our communities is one of Thomas & Hutton’s core values,†says Cecilia Arango, marketing manager at Thomas & Hutton and founder of T&H Helping Hands. “It is the essence of what we do as engineers, designing for a better quality of life. T&H Helping Hands is the embodiment of this part of our culture. It allows us to give back to the communities where we work and where our employees live.â€
The firm’s philanthropic relationship with local communities dates to its very beginnings in 1946, when it was started by founders who were active in the service organization Rotary International.
“The company, for as long as I have been here, has always been very involved in the community,†says Sam McCachern, president and CEO of Thomas & Hutton, who has been with the organization for 35 years. “We are a professional services organization, and making communities better is part of what we are called to do.â€
“We are a professional services organization, and making communities better is part of what we are called to do.â€
SAM MCCACHERN
PRESIDENT AND CEO
THOMAS & HUTTON
Although the firm’s employees have been volunteering in their communities for many decades, the firm launched T&H Helping Hands in 2017 as a way to formalize those efforts and help spread the word about service opportunities. The company aims to organize events monthly or bimonthly in its larger offices, with its employees at the smaller regional offices hosting projects two to four times a year and frequently traveling to nearby offices to participate in T&H Helping Hands events.
According to McCachern, the program has given employees the chance to take more ownership over the firm’s community service activities.
“We talk about the people at Thomas & Hutton being responsible for their experience here,†he says. “What excites me about our volunteer activities is that this is not something where I am saying, ‘Go and do this.’ It is anybody in the company raising their hand and saying, ‘I want to go and do this.’ That is the exciting part.â€
In 2019, the company raised close to $30,000 through fundraising efforts that benefited more than two dozen organizations. An average of 50 employees each month participate in T&H Helping Hands activities, and so far they have contributed “sweat hours†to more than 20 nonprofits in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee through the program.
One of those nonprofits is Coastal Empire Habitat for Humanity, which serves Chatham County, Ga. Thomas & Hutton has been working with the nonprofit since the chapter’s founding in 1983.
“Their culture of giving is one that, if replicated by other organizations, could be something that really drives impact in our community.â€
HAROLD TESSENDORF
FORMER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
COASTAL EMPIRE HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
According to Harold Tessendorf, former executive director of Coastal Empire Habitat for Humanity, Thomas & Hutton employees and executives have enhanced their efforts since the launch of the T&H Helping Hands program. He notes that McCachern has participated in two builds for executive leaders, Arango led women employees in three annual Women Build projects, and multiple Thomas & Hutton officials have served on the chapter’s board of directors. T&H has also helped sponsor several Habitat for Humanity fundraisers and promoted the affiliate through its internal communications.
“They encourage their members to not only volunteer with their hands and feet, but also on committees and boards,†Tessendorf says. “The company has really supported those staff members to be effective board members, and that includes financial support. Because they have that investment through a staff member, it gives the company greater confidence in the nonprofit and creates a positive giving loop.â€
“Their culture of giving is one that, if replicated by other organizations, could be something that really drives impact in our community,†Tessendorf adds. “We have been very appreciative of that.â€
Dudash attributes the high level of interest in T&H Helping Hands to the firm’s “family†feel.
“The overall culture of the company is more like a family,†he says. “That comes from both the top down and the bottom up. When something is important to one person, other people want to step in and help them out. It is woven into the DNA of the company.â€
According to John Giordano, a project manager in Thomas & Hutton’s Savannah office, the mix of fundraising, hands-on volunteering, and board service helps to provide opportunities for all employees to give back. Giordano has served on the Board of Directors for the Savannah Red Cross as well as the Campaign Cabinet and Allocations Committee for the United Way of the Coastal Empire and also leads volunteering projects like a recent greenhouse build for a nonprofit that teaches job skills to people with disabilities.
“You are helping the community, but you are also bonding and building relationships.â€
JOHN GIORDANO
PROJECT MANAGER
In his role with United Way, Giordano helped review various agencies’ requests for funding and properly allocate United Way Campaign funds to support local nonprofits. In addition to supporting the local United Way Campaign, Thomas & Hutton also directly partners with local charities, hosting fundraisers, encouraging staff participation on local boards and organizing volunteer opportunities.
“Different things spark interest in different people,†Giordano says. “Some people want to write a check, because they know it is important to get funding to the organization. Other folks might not have the monetary capacity to donate, but they realize that they can go out and build a greenhouse, and what they are doing is every bit as important. And other folks may want to do a combination of both and can be involved by sitting on a board, helping to steer the organization and advance its mission. Everyone has the ability to be involved and make a difference.â€
In addition to making a positive impact on their communities, volunteering also creates stronger bonds between people within the company, according to Giordano.
“It is something that allows employees to connect outside of the office,†he says. “You are helping the community, but you are also bonding and building relationships.â€
Thomas & Hutton believes in the benefits of volunteering so strongly that T&H Helping Hands is actually a part of the company’s employee wellness program.
“We thought that was an important part of being healthy and having a healthy community,†says Arango. “We really want well-rounded employees. Not only are you focusing on your own health and well-being but the health and well-being of our communities, as well. You are adding more value to yourself, to the company, and to the community when you volunteer.â€
The firm’s Atlanta office organized a river cleanup project shortly after the office opened in 2019. But because the office was so new, there were only a handful of local employees to participate. Employees from around the company pitched in to help, creating connections between regions and helping the new office start off its service programming on the right foot.
“We had people from four locations go up there and help them do the river cleanup,†McCachern says. “That was good to see.â€
McCachern adds that volunteering activities promote team building for employees within regions, as well. Even as the company’s physical offices were shut down during the coronavirus crisis in the spring of 2020, employees packed boxes of food at Second Harvest Food Bank in Savannah. They worked alongside one another to help get food to those in need, even while maintaining social distancing protocols.
“That is a team of five that now has that common bond,†McCachern says. “They know they have done some good for their fellow man.â€
Calvin Hennick is a business, technology, and travel writer based in Milton, Mass.
Inspired by a classic episode of The Office, Thomas & Hutton each summer holds Office Olympics, with employees competing for bragging rights and fantastic prizes (custom medals made out of spray-painted CDs). People pay to play, and the event has raised several thousand dollars for organizations such as the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
The 2019 Office Olympics benefited AMBUCS Bowlapalooza and included the following events:
Split Happens: Team members take turns bowling, trying to knock down all of the bowling pins at the end of the hallway.
The “Bored†Meeting: Players shoot rubber bands in an attempt to land them in a coffee mug placed in the middle of a conference table.
Do Not Talk to Me Until I Finish My Coffee: In this “caffeine rush†relay race, team members run with a coffee cup full of water, handing off to each other, trying to finish the race with a full cup.
Is This Parking Lot Bicycle Friendly?: This is another relay race, with participants cycling around a parking lot island and handing off child-sized bikes between team members.
Tie Breaker: All ties for events such as those above are settled in a Hula Hoop-off competition.