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Home Depot, United Way of Palm Beach County and Hillsborough County Tax Collector honored for social responsibility at Best Practices 2008
PRIVATE SECTOR Home Depot was founded with the vision of one-stop shopping for the do-it-yourselfer. The first two Home Depot stores opened in June 1979 in Atlanta, Georgia. Opening with the best customer service in the industry, guiding customers through projects such as laying tile, changing a valve or handling a power tool. Not only did store associates undergo rigorous product knowledge training, but they began offering clinics so customers could learn how to do it themselves. Home Depot revolutionized the home improvement industry by bringing the know-how and the tools to the customer. Best Practice: Social Responsibility Programs Home Depot has a number of initiatives that focus on giving back to the community, including Home Depot Foundation Community Impact Grants, building and rebuilding community play areas, donating store gift cards for nonprofits and assisting nonprofits with projects through Team Depot 1-2-3. All employees are provided CARE/Solutions for Life services such as counseling, legal and financial services, summer care options and parenting and elder care resources. In 2005, the Home Depot in Boca Raton started the Disability Awareness/Disability Employment Opportunities program with the Archer Disability Foundation by partnering 25 students with disabilities with Home Depot employees/mentors. Home Depot later hired three of the students. One year later, five Palm Beach County stores participated in the program and in 2007, the Pensacola Home Depot followed suit. Wal-Mart has now joined the program with seven locations. A Certificate of Appreciation was awarded to Home Depot by the Governor of Florida for having the largest disability-mentoring program in Florida. Contact: Daria Perez, (561) 793-7048
In the State of Florida, the county Tax Collectors are the funding engine powering virtually all local governments, such as cities and counties, while collecting and distributing revenue for many other public entities including school boards, ports and mass transit systems. The Hillsborough County Tax Collector’s (HCTC) office collects and distributes over $2 billion annually in property, tangible, business and tourist development taxes and handles over 1 million motor vehicle and vessel transactions annually, which include titling and registering motor vehicles, vessels and mobile homes, issuing and renewing driver licenses and issuing hunting and fishing licenses. Best Practice: Public Awareness Program and Community Support Selection Process The HCTC gives back to the community by allowing local non-profit organizations to apply for their support. Applications include an overview of the organization, mission, vision, values and how their services impact the community. Using three tiers of criteria, senior leaders select up to six non-profits to support during the year through a variety of initiatives, such as: 1) promotion of specialty license plates; 2) solicitation of donations from HCTC customers; and 3) inserting charity marketing materials in vehicle registration renewal notices. The office also supports community events such as the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk and the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk. These events are selected by employees. Non-profit organizations are nominated by employees and then selected by employee voting in an Employee Interest Survey. The Florida Sterling Council recognized this practice as a strength in a feedback report and the HCTC has shared it with other organizations. Contact: Doug Belden, Tax Collector, (813) 612-6701
United Way of Palm Beach County (UWPBC) is a local, volunteer-driven organization with the mission to measurably improve the lives of individuals and families in Palm Beach County by uniting the resources of donors, volunteers, agencies and the community. Best Practice: Prosperity Campaign UWPBC provides economic programs designed to address the needs of low-income, working residents. The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program resulted in 41,003 clients receiving a total of $62 million in tax refunds they may not otherwise have received. Four part-time Prosperity Centers located in targeted communities with high concentrations of low-income residents, provide support in areas such as career counseling, job skills training and credit counseling. The Homeownership Program, available at the Prosperity Centers, offers financial literacy and education and access to down payment assistance. Health and benefits accessibility is improved through the Medicaider Program, which screens households for economic, health and human services benefits. United Way of America recognized UWPBC’s Prosperity Campaign as one of three grand prize winners in its Best Practices program and has developed a national initiative using it as a model. The Prosperity Campaign was awarded the 2007 Local Initiatives Support Corporation South Florida Community Development Champion Award. Contact: Scott Badesch, President & CEO, (561) 375-6608
2008 Award Nominees:
Previous Award Recipients: 2007 2006 2005
The Dorothy H. Wilken Best Practices Award honors a business, government or non-profit organization that strives for continuous improvement and excellence. The award, originally called the Dorothy H. Wilken Outstanding Leadership Award, was established in 2004 to honor the former Clerk’s 30-year career in community and organizational leadership. The name was changed in 2007 to the Best Practices Award to better capture the spirit of the annual event in which it is presented. This year’s winner was announced at Best Practices 2008: Great Organizations ... Great Communities, October 22 in West Palm Beach, Florida. |
