Company's holiday hiring drive leads to food pantry donation

A holiday hiring drive led by Express Employment Professionals of Brookfield raised $480, donated to the Food Pantry of Waukesha County.

The staffing agency partnered with the food pantry in its five-week "Give the Gift of Employment" hiring drive in November and December.

Companies hired an Express employee for one week or more, and for each person hired, Express donated $10 to the food pantry.

"Being out of work, especially during the holidays, can be particularly tough, and we tried to make sure as many people as possible were able to earn a paycheck in time for the holidays," Rick Grimord, CEO of Express Brookfield, said. "Our clients stepped up, shared our campaign with other area businesses, and we were able to make a sizable donation to the Food Pantry of Waukesha County."

Grimord said the "Give the Gift of Employment" idea started at an Express office in Virginia several years ago.

"I thought this was such a neat idea," Grimord said. "My family has done volunteer work at the Food Pantry of Waukesha County over the past years, so I felt it was natural to choose the pantry to team up with."

Karen Tredwell, executive director of food pantry, said the donation had perfect timing.

" 'The Gift of Employment' was a great new way to bring funds into the pantry," Tredwell said. "The monetary contribution comes at a time of year when donations of food and funds decline after the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays."

The donation will be used to purchase food to help ensure that there is enough quantity and variety to meet the needs of the weekly average of 1,468 men, women and children who receive food at the Food Pantry of Waukesha County, Tredwell said.

"I didn't know what to expect, but to be able to put 48 people to work was fantastic," Grimord said. "I can't wait to do this again next year."

Express Employment Professionals serves local businesses with both full-time and temporary staffing and job placement in addition to providing human resource services and consulting. The franchise has more than 600 locations nationwide, 17 in Wisconsin.