Sonnax, employees raise $20,000 for hurricane relief

In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, employees of Sonnax Industries of Bellows Falls, Vt. were looking for ways to help. Like many others in Vermont and New Hampshire, they had been directly affected by this tragedy or had friends and neighbors who were. Sonnax President & CEO Tommy Harmon issued the following challenge to employees: donate money for the Red Cross of Vermont and New Hampshire and the Vermont Food Bank, and the company would match employees’ contributions, dollar for dollar, up to $5,000. In addition, Harmon and Sonnax board member Rick Fritz would personally match contributions, creating $4 of disaster relief for every dollar pledged by Sonnax employees.
But the dedication of the people of Sonnax, an employee owned company, to lend a hand didn’t end there. In addition to the need for monetary donations, helping hands were sought to help victims dig out from the devastation. To encourage employees to volunteer for this effort, Sonnax agreed to pay them for up to eight hours of time spent volunteering in the disaster relief effort during their regular work hours.
As has become the tradition when Sonnax campaigns to raise money for charitable causes, Maintenance Technician Steve Cheeney prepared one of his famous spaghetti lunches. Cheeney grows the vegetables and does the cooking for these spaghetti fundraisers, and Sonnax employees once again gladly lined up to donate and enjoy the treat, raising a record $778 in just a few short hours!
The final tally? Sonnax employees raised $5,093. With the matching pledges from Harmon, Fritz, plus the company contribution, a total of $20,093 was donated to the Red Cross of Vermont and New Hampshire and the Vermont Food Bank. This money, along with countless hours spent on the volunteer effort by Sonnax employees, is further proof that Sonnax takes very seriously its commitment to giving back to the community.
Sonnax 9.29.2011