The Telemus team continues to focus on helping our community by working together and giving back. Members of the team gathered June 9 at the Oak Park Community Center to distribute emergency food boxes from Forgotten Harvest to more than 500 households. Cars lined the block waiting for diet staples like milk, potatoes, bread, fruit and more. Forgotten Harvest helps fight hunger and food insecurity by rescuing 138,000 pounds of fresh, nutritious food per day that might otherwise go to waste and getting it onto the tables of local families in need.
Working in stations of four, the volunteers loaded food boxes into the trunks of cars to ensure contact-free, COVID-19-safe service. Quick work by Telemus team members allowed most cars to get through all of the food stations in just two or three minutes.
“We always talk about enriching the lives of others, and I think part of that is not just supporting our clients, but the larger community that we’re a part of. This is a very hands-on, tangible way of doing that,” said Client Service Manager Natalie Langnas who joined Telemus in February. The Forgotten Harvest event was her first hands-on volunteering experience with her new coworkers.
Originally, Telemus signed up for seven volunteer slots, said Maria Gorog, a Client Service Associate who helped plan the event. But the team was so enthusiastic about helping out, more than dozen team members participated.
Johannah Schiffer, Director of People and Places, attributed much of the event’s success to Forgotten Harvest, an organization she says has been well organized and productive every time she’s worked with them. On the Telemus side, she said the event provided a great opportunity to work on something together, face-to-face.
Partner and Chief Operating Officer Matt Ran was among the volunteers. He talked about the importance of events like this.
“Whether that’s personally, whether that’s office, I feel that in the position we’re in, it’s always good to give back,” he said. “Enrichment is a big part of who we are — and enriching the community is a big part of that.”
Josh Levine, another Partner, agreed.
“At Telemus we’ve been very fortunate not only to enjoy what we do, but to be successful,” he said. “COVID-19 hit so many families hard and many are still struggling. It’s part of our obligation to give back, especially in a time of need.”
Claudia Johnson, Client Service Manager, joined Telemus just over a year ago. When she was interviewing for her role, she says she was just as much interviewing Telemus to make sure the company culture fit with her philanthropic values. Needless to say, Claudia was impressed.
“As much as we are about our clientele, Telemus is about giving the same back to the community,” she said.
The team is looking forward to rolling up their sleeves and helping Forgotten Harvest in another way later this month. Telemus will volunteer at the Forgotten Harvest Farm in Fenton, helping to harvest vegetables, build picnic tables, and more.
PAST PERFORMANCE IS NOT A GUARANTEE OF FUTURE RESULTS. Investment decisions should always be made based on the client's specific financial needs, goals and objectives, time horizon and risk tolerance. Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to risk. Risks may include interest-rate risk, market risk, inflation risk, deflation risk, currency risk, reinvestment risk, business risk, liquidity risk, financial risk, and cybersecurity risk. These risks are more fully described in Telemus Capital's Firm Brochure (Part 2A of Form ADV), which is available upon request. Telemus Capital does not guarantee the results of any investments. Investment, insurance and annuity products are not FDIC insured, are not bank guaranteed, and may lose value.
