bız
POINT
Businesses That
Give Back
How companies in the
Corridor make a difference for
those in need.
BY SYDNI WALKER
Kenny’s 2nd Annual Golf Tournament
benefiting Hope’s Door
B
B USINESS OWNERS IN the North Dallas Corridor
believe that making money is not as nice unless
they are able to help out others in need. That
is why many of our businesses donate time
and money to help out local charities and
organizations for a good cause.
Take Dunn Brothers Coffee, for example.
This coffee shop started by Ed and Dan Dunn
in 1987 believes in roasting small batches of
coffee beans in-store every day to preserve the
freshness of the drink.
“We choose to support Metrocrest Services
because we believe in their cause,” says Alan
Geddie, owner of the Dunn Brothers Addison
location. “We donate a percentage of each sale
for those customers who use our mobile rewards
app. By giving back, we support the Addison
community to build goodwill and help those
in need.”
Another Addison-based company to donate
to Metrocrest Services is the Addison branch of
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BIZ POINT / BRIEFS
Kerri Heintz (far right) and her mother at
BB&T event
BB&T, a community banking company started
in 1872 that offers a wide range of financial
services. Every year, BB&T does a Lighthouse
Project. Every one of the more than 1,500
branch locations chooses a local nonprofit to
support. The bank authorizes each employee
in the company to work four hours of paid time
to volunteer at a nonprofit, and the bank also
donates funds to the nonprofit.
“One of the four tenets of BB&T’s mission
statement is ‘Making the communities in
which we work better places to be,’” says Mary
Ann Burns, market leader and loan officer
for BB&T. “BB&T as a whole has completed
6,600 community projects, volunteered over
325,000 hours of time, and affected the lives of
9.7 million people. The Addison location decided
we wanted to use our Lighthouse Project to
benefit Metrocrest Services, because we wanted
to give back to a local agency.”
Together, BB&T and Metrocrest Services
organized Project Silver, donating groceries,
toiletries, and cleaning supplies to senior
citizens in the area. “We had over 40 volunteers
who delivered the items to the seniors’ homes,”
says Burns. “The seniors were thrilled to get
the groceries, but also very happy to see the
volunteers. BB&T also donated $7,000 to fund
the project. This was a great project for ...
Metrocrest Services and also very rewarding
[for] the employees who volunteered.”
Another Corridor company deals with
money, but not in the same way as BB&T.
TravisWolff LLP is an independent accounting
and advisory firm that was founded in 1991. It
offers tax and consulting services among other
financial advisory services to companies and
individuals. It also donates to a large range of
nonprofits and charities.
“From local start-up philanthropic
organizations, charities where we have
representation on the board, to our nonprofit
clients, TravisWolff works with organizations
where we truly make an impact,” says Diane
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Hartley, director of TravisWolff. “We also
have a Community Service Committee that
plans monthly events and drives internal
communication that encourages our employees
to dedicate their time for service.”
TravisWolff loves giving to and working
with nonprofits, according to Hartley, because
it creates employee collaboration and teambuilding, as well as enriching the lives of its
employees and positively impacting the
surrounding community.
“We encourage our employees to become
involved in their communities, lending their
voluntary support to programs where they can
positively impact the quality of life of others,”
says Hartley. “In order to encourage such efforts,
TravisWolff allows employees a day off each year
in order to serve at a firm-sponsored service
project, in addition to eight hours of personal
service projects to support individuals’ passions
apart from the firm-scheduled events.”
A family-run, local financial services
company likes giving back to the community as
well. Brennan Financial Services has 30 years’
experience designing investment portfolios
to help people retire successfully and helping
businesses come up with retirement plans for
their employees.
“We are a family business, and our family has
always donated our time, talent and treasure
to nonprofit groups,” says Debra Brennan
Tagg, managing partner at Brennan Financial
Services. “Service to others is really a part of
“We believe part of
our responsibility
as a business in
the community is
to give back to the
community.”
– Chris McKee, Venturity
Financial Partners
the DNA of our family. Our firm has been a
member of the community for over 30 years,
and we strongly believe in giving back to the
community that has been the bedrock for the
ongoing growth of our firm. Since we work
with families all day long to help them achieve
their goals, we know how important it is for
individuals to have access to the resources they
need, both short term and long term.”
The organization of choice for Brennan
Financial Services to donate to is the
Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT). Tagg
is a member of the CFT Advisory Council, and
Brennan Financial Services is a member of
Shields Legal Group 2014 Thanksgiving Food Drive – Back Row (left to right) Kathy Hoke, Margaret
Apgar, Geneva Young, Carolyn Ping, Jim Shields, Sheila Tamez, Ashley Stroud. Front Row (left to
right) Dan Kelley, Bart Higgins, Tara Flores, Cathie Shields
D EC/JAN 2015 /16 AD D IS O N T h e Ma ga z i n e of th e North D allas Corri dor
BIZ POINT / BRIEFS
contributed to this charitable fund. A team
member-led Venturity Cares Committee then
decides the nonprofits we will contribute to
financially.”
Another company that belongs to the
EFNT is Shields Legal Group, a legal services
group in Addison that brings business insight,
professional judgment and competence to
companies’ business and legal issues.
Jim Shields decided it was time to give
back to the community in February 2013. “We
were faced with an obvious dilemma,” says
– Shaena Tuohy, Kenny’s
Kathy Eriksen, marketing director for Shields
Restaurant Group
Legal Group. “How can a group of 15 people
make much of a difference in a community of
5 million? The answer to that question is so
simple, it inspired a community involvement
project that we call IMPACT | 365. The effect
is so profound that it has dramatically changed
each member of the firm.”
What is IMPACT | 365? It is a program that
money to the community.
focuses on inspiring each individual in the firm
“We like giving back to the community
to take intentional actions to help someone else.
because there was a time where we needed
Eriksen details the three primary objectives,
help getting off the ground,” says Shaena Tuohy,
which include: sustaining the environment
marketing manager for Kenny’s Restaurant
through the firm’s Going Greener Office Policy,
Group. “We had to reach out to friends, family
lending a helping hand through volunteer
and investors and hope that they would
service and giving back through financial gifts.
believe in us. Everyone needs help at some
Shields Legal Group partnered with EFNT in
point in time, and we are fortunate to be able
order to work with an experienced organization
to provide someone with even the little help
with deep roots in the nonprofit community.
that we can. We chose Hope’s Door, because
Eriksen adds that EFNT acts as their outsourced
they are small and local — just like us. We know
community service coordinator, who helps the
that 100 percent of the money we give them
company make it easy to give back.
is going directly to help someone in need the
“Based on annual employee surveys, we
very next day.”
focus on three to four volunteer events every
Although the choices for where to donate,
year as well as participate in EFNT’s annual
the amount of time and money donated, and
Freedom Day,” says Eriksen. “We also host
the companies themselves differ, businesses in
several backpack, clothing or food drives a year,
the Corridor are united in their love of helping
including an annual food drive for Minnie’s
others. It’s a great place to live where you know
Food Pantry that is part of our holiday party.
that if you help out local companies, they will
Guests are asked to bring canned goods or other
turn it around and help out the community.
food items that are delivered to Minnie’s Food
Pantry in time for the
Thanksgiving giveaway.”
There is not just one
type of company in the
Corridor that gives back
to the community; a wide
range of different businesses practices charitable giving. For example,
Kenny’s Restaurant Group
— owner of the delicious
Kenny’s Wood Fired Grill,
Kenny ’s Burger Joint,
TravisWolff employees participate in a number of charitable
Kenny’s Italian Kitchen
activities. Roberta Gavin (seated) looks on as Cassie White reads
and Kenny’s Smoke House
Little Blue and Little Yellow to schoolchildren
— also enjoys donating
“We had to reach
out to friends,
family and investors
and hope that they
would believe in us.”
BB&T employee participates in Lighthouse
Project
the Entrepreneurs for North Texas (EFNT)
through the CFT.
“When we decided to create a Brennan
Financial Services Family Service Day,
we worked with EFNT to design a service
opportunity where our clients, friends and
colleagues could be hands-on and feel that they
directly helped families in need,” says Tagg.
“We chose the North Texas Food Bank, and
we filled bags of food for kids to take home on
the weekend so they would have something to
eat. The idea that they would not be able to eat
without the bags we filled was profound and
left us all a little more grateful.”
There seems to be a trend with financial companies — they understand the value of money
and the importance of donating it. Venturity
Financial Partners is no different; it is another
Addison-based company that likes to give back
and is a part of the EFNT.
Aside from the North Texas Giving Day
put on by the CFT, during which Venturity
Financial Partners decided to donate to over a
dozen nonprofits, it encourages each employee
to give back how he or she wants.
“We believe part of our responsibility as a
business in the community is to give back to
the community,” says Chris McKee, managing
partner at Venturity Financial Partners. “Each
of our team members has the opportunity to
have one dollar or more withheld from their
paychecks each pay period to go toward our
charitable efforts in the community. Venturity
matches dollar for dollar everything that is
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