It’s always touching when local businesses give back to good causes within their community, but it’s especially heartwarming when people find ways to make a hands-on difference. Since the company’s founding, Latitude Commercial employees have spent one day of the year volunteering time as a team to an organization in need. On Friday, October 6, the Latitude Commercial team spent its annual volunteer day putting green thumbs to the test on behalf of Tradewinds, an organization serving people with special needs.
“It’s good to give back. The community has done so much for us and our organization, so it's important to give back and help people who can’t always help themselves. Volunteering gives you perspective in life and allows you to better appreciate all the opportunities you have,” said Aaron McDermott, co-founder and president of Latitude Commercial.
Latitude Commercial has been a close partner of Tradewinds for many years. Tradewinds currently serves 900 adults and 700 children each year through a wide variety of wonderful programs. The organization’s programs help empower these individuals and provide them with the skills they need to live fulfilling lives.
“The Tradewinds organization is amazing. What it stands for and what it does for its clients is awesome, and it helps individuals get acclimated to their community. Getting to help this specific organization means a lot,” said Myles Rapchak, principal and vice president of Latitude Commercial.
Four years ago, Tradewinds started a garden project thanks to a Whole Foods grant. Each year Tradewinds clients grow its own organic vegetables and then sets up a little farmers market to sell them. The program helps these clients learn how to count money and strengthen their people skills.
Toward the end of the summer, the garden becomes overgrown and Tradewinds has to pull out all the weeds and old plants so the garden is ready to go for next year. Normally a janitor would do it, but many of Tradewinds’ janitors are older folks who are getting close to retirement. To save Tradewinds time and money, as well as prevent their staff from hurting themselves, the Latitude Commercial team volunteered to weed the garden.
Tradewinds was touched to have so many individuals eager to help.
“Latitude Commercial is so great about helping, and to have them send out this many people for this project is very impressive. We’re extremely grateful that they’re here. It helps us so much, and I know it helps them feel good as well,” said Jane DiMartin, Tradewinds’ relationship and networking liaison.
Latitude Commercial was just happy to have the opportunity to go beyond just donating.
“We do try to give back to different organizations financially throughout the year, but this is a hands-on opportunity to help in a different way that people might not think about. Today we’re just cleaning out this garden, and that saves them so much time and energy – that’s something that money can’t always go toward but is still very important,” said Brett McDermott, co-founder and senior vice president of Latitude Commercial.
Fixing up the garden was far from a chore for the Latitude Commercial team. Everyone joked and laughed together as they ripped and raked weeds from the ground. A couple of the women took a break to admire an adorable fuzzy caterpillar. After the work was finished, a few members of the team even took a minute to throw a football around. It was a great opportunity for the team to grow even closer.
“We’re with each other every day and see each other in the office all the time, but volunteering allows us to bond as a team and see each other in a more relaxed way. We get to enjoy a day together, and oftentimes we’ll get lunch together afterward – it’s just a nice time,” said Brett McDermott.
Even more importantly, the day was a great way to raise awareness for Tradewinds’ unique programs. Without volunteering, many of the Latitude Commercial team members might never have known about the garden project and everything it’s done to help individuals grow.
“It’s one thing to tell people about what we do; I can talk all day until I’m blue in the face, but for people to really understand, they have to be there and see how our curriculum helps these individuals,” said DiMartin.
Between dirty hands, smiles, and eight garbage bags bursting with pulled weeds, Latitude Commerical’s annual volunteer day couldn’t have been a bigger success. Completing the task was a privilege for the Latitude Commercial team and just a small way of saying thanks to such a meaningful organization.
“We just want everyone to know that there are people who care. The people at Tradewinds are so caring and happy and we want to show them that we appreciate them as much as they appreciate us,” said Aaron McDermott.
Latitude Commerical’s philanthropy definitely won’t end here. Everyone on the team can’t wait to continue giving back to their community for years to come.
“Giving back to the community has been extremely important to us as long as we’ve existed, and we plan on continuing to volunteer as long as we’re around. Everyone enjoys getting to do this,” said Rapchak.
To learn more about Latitude Commercial and its giving team, visit latitudeco.com.
