Giving Back: Almo Employees Donate Time, Talent, Toys and Turkeys for the Holidays

Philadelphia-based Almo Professional A/V, a distributor of professional audio and digital signage equipment, has been overtaken by the holiday spirit for the past several weeks.

The company’s employees have donated their time, talent, toys and even turkeys to those in need at nonprofits around the country.

“Whenever there is an opportunity to participate in an outreach project, our employees don’t hesitate for a moment,” says Warren Chaiken, president and CEO. “Instead, they roll up their sleeves and go above and beyond, offering up their time, talent and whatever else is needed. Almo’s rich tradition of giving continues to grow as our employees find more ways to give back. Their generosity and compassion extend far beyond the workplace and into their communities where they are able to make a positive impact by helping others throughout the year, and especially now during the holidays.”

The Almo Professional A/V Baltimore office adopted two families with five young boys through the Downtown Baltimore Family Alliance, an independent, non-profit alliance of parents, educators and community activists devoted to supporting Baltimore families. For the past eight years, DBFA has connected families in need to those that want to give through its “Adopt-A-Family” program.

“We collected nearly $500 from employees in the Almo Pro A/V office in Baltimore,” says Melody Craigmyle, vice president of marketing and communications for Almo Corp. “These donations were used to purchase school supplies, toiletries and, of course, some really great toys.”

The Almo Professional A/V Florida office set up a giving tree for the Ronald McDonald House Charities, which serves children and families worldwide through programs that provide access to health care and family-centered care. Almo employees chose tags that represented $15 Target gift cards and donated nearly $500 to the local RMHC chapter. In addition, Almo employees provided toys for patients at St. Christopher’s Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, through the Committee to Benefit the Children, as part of Almo’s RMHC partnership.

In November, employees from the Almo Professional A/V Baltimore office went to Johns Hopkins Believe in Tomorrow Children’s Foundation, which provides hospital and respite housing services to critically ill children and their families. Almo employees donated money for food, and then shopped, prepared, served and cleaned up a Thanksgiving feast for the 25 adults and children staying in the facility. Also in that city, Almo was a sponsor for the Integrate Baltimore holiday fundraiser for Toys-For-Tots.

Since the 1950s, Almo has treated its employees with Thanksgiving turkeys. This year, each employee was given the option to donate their turkey or the cash equivalent to the Somerton Interfaith Food Bank in the Philadelphia area near Almo headquarters. Almo employees donated a total of 58 turkeys weighing between 12-14 pounds, along with close to $4,000 for those in need in the community.

Finally, Almo worked with the Pottstown Cluster of Religions Charities in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, providing 219 gift items to cover the wishes of approximately 70-75 local area children. The Almo Philadelphia headquarters also raffled off sample and donated products and then used the money for additional toy drives, restaurant gift cards and other gifts for local-area families.