Family Album

Your Community Needs You!
By: Susan Garritano

We talk a lot at McCarthy about the whole notion of being a “community-based builder.” There are more than a few definitions of that — but one of the more important ones is the thought that the company as a whole and ALL of our employees in a particular location become recognized leaders and “go to” people for charitable organizations throughout that community. It's good business and it's simply the right thing to do morally and ethically.

Each of our Divisions is doing its part — some more than others. Each has its own golf tournament with proceeds going to various charities. Each has its own pet charity — many times it being client dictated. And each is beginning to embrace the idea of the McCarthy Heart Hats program (which is meant to be an umbrella program for all the company's charitable programs). More often than not too, much of our volunteering has been done on an employee's own time — the weekends or a holiday. Now it's time for the company to put its money and time where its mouth is.

During the month of October, each and every McCarthy employee will be given a day off to spend working in small (or large) groups on different community service projects. These can be anything from volunteering at a local shelter to helping landscape/ clean up a charity's exterior. Do the math and you'll realize that this is not an insignificant financial investment. Each Division will develop their own list of activities and employees will have a chance to pick which one they are most interested in. We'll also be asking all employees to come up with their own ideas for service projects and the best will be chosen for implementation.

The point of the program is a simple one. It's so easy to write a check to a charity and simply scratch that task off your “to do” list. Doing so is kind of rewarding (especially if you can deduct it!), but more likely you do it and forget about it. It's so much more rewarding, though, if you give your time and your talent. That's where the real magic comes from. Doing so allows you to get personally involved in that charity, meet the people you're helping, and see the benefit of your work. That's the true reward. And that's the goal of our Community Day program — simply put to encourage EVERYONE at McCarthy to personally get involved in their community not just for the day but hopefully for a lifetime. It's not just senior management's job to do so, it's everyone's. Just imagine the combined impact if years from now all 1,000 of us (and more as we grow) were each out in our communities, getting involved and spreading the McCarthy word. The thought should make our competitors quake.