“Once the reality of COVID-19 set in, we heard an overwhelming desire from employees in our plant and office, our Social Committee and the Union to do what we could to support our local community. We pulled together and established a process to collect donations, and to say the response was fantastic is an understatement.” (Dave Teeter, President – KeepRite Refrigeration)
KeepRite Refrigeration has been a part of the Brantford community for 75 years and we have seen firsthand how strong a community is when everyone comes together, especially during critical times like the present. Not only does our workforce include your neighbours and friends, it also includes 2nd and even 3rd generation employees! We have members on our team whose parents and grandparents also worked at KeepRite Refrigeration and have helped us to become the company we are today.
As active and connected members of our Brantford society, our employees are community leaders, and many use their spare time to volunteer at various local organizations. We understand that what affects our local community, affects us not only as a company but our families, our friends, and our neighbours.
It’s no secret that COVID-19 has been felt on a global level. Although KeepRite Refrigeration has been affected by this pandemic, since we sell our products across North America, we continue to keep our doors open as an essential service to support our frontline workers in the healthcare and food industries. As such, we feel very fortunate to continue working during these times and believe it’s important to share that good fortune with our community. While our products are sold throughout the continent, our home is Brantford.
KeepRite Refrigeration designs and builds commercial refrigeration equipment that is imperative to food safety and a critical part of the food industry supply chain. Brantford Food Bank is also part of that chain, which is why our KeepRite Refrigeration team came together to donate $10,000 to the organization.
“We face a number of challenges,” says Heather Vanner, Executive Director. “We have seen food donations decrease, and many of our volunteers have rightly chosen to self-isolate. This creates manpower challenges. Our staff have committed to meeting the needs of individuals needing help and are working hard to ensure our services continue to operate. We anticipate the number of people using our services will rise as the economic impacts of the pandemic take hold.”
We want to help the Brantford Food Bank to not just face, but to conquer the challenges that they and many other organizations are facing at this time.
To say it was a team effort is an understatement. The company set things in motion by setting up the infrastructure required for employees to make individual contributions through payroll. KeepRite Refrigeration’s Social Committee and KeepRite Workers Independent Union also stepped up with generous contributions.
“This isn’t really about work. This is about supporting our families, friends and neighbours through a tough time. As an essential service, we are still working. And we wanted to support those in our community who need a hand.” (Paul Pritchard, President – KeepRite Workers Independent Union)
”So many people working here are community leaders – they’re active and doing their part whether they volunteer in service groups, coach their kids’ sports teams, help out at a local shelter… this just seemed like an extension of that community mindset.” (Dave Tayler, Chair – KeepRite Refrigeration Social Committee)
We know that if we continue to come together as a community, supporting our local businesses and one another while remaining positive, that we will get through this. #BrantfordTogether