 |
 |
The Foundation's Story  In 1992, the California Grocers Association Board of Directors embarked on an ambitious program – to expand into areas previously beyond CGA’s reach due to limited manpower and funding. That desire was the genesis for creating the CGA Educational Foundation. The Foundation’s mission is simple: to advance the grocery industry through employee education, scholarships, industry research projects and recognition of excellence within the grocery industry. The Foundation’s keystone is its Board of Trustees – comprised of individuals with years of expertise from all segments of the food industry – that provides the direction and strategic planning. These are people who know the industry’s needs in an environment that is constantly changing. To meet that challenge, Foundation Trustees continually ask the questions: How do we help our CGA member stores help their own grocery employees? What do our employees need to do to be as helpful as possible to our customer? The following are the programs the CGA Educational Foundation has created to provide answers to these persistent questions. The Foundation was created as a value-add for CGA members. The Trustees encourage all CGA member companies to take advantage of the unique programs offered. Career Development The star of the Foundation and its first undertaking, the Career Development program encourages grocery industry employees to seek careers in all areas of the food industry. Traditional “on-the-job” training is typically the first place our employees learn the ways of the food business. The Career Development program seeks to encourage individuals to go beyond this training by reimbursing employees for course work in a wide array of fields related to the food industry. Accounting, merchandising, management, computer skills, safety, foreign languages, cake decorating and floral arrangement are just a sampling of how the Career Development program is making the grocery employee a better prepared employee. Adding his praise, Bill Roulette, a Foundation Trustee from 1999-2008, said, “The gratifying aspect of the Career Development Reimbursement Program is that literally thousands of employees have been financially assisted over the years in their educational pursuits.” Last year, nearly $90,000 was paid in class reimbursement for employees wanting to improve their job skills. Since its inception the program has paid over $600,000 in tuition dollars to grocery personnel. It is considered one of the best benefits of CGA membership by those who have availed themselves of this program. College Scholarships The growth of our College Scholarship Program has been nothing short of phenomenal since its
Since 1998, a total of nearly $1.5 million has been awarded to grocery employees and their family members. These funds include four types of scholarships: CGAEF Funded, Legacy, Donor and Piggyback Partnership Scholarships. Anchoring the CGAEF Funded scholarships is the Don C. Beaver Memorial Scholarship, the first scholarship offered by CGAEF in 1998 to honor Mr. Beaver, CGA President from 1979 through 1996. Like all of our scholarships, it recognizes and aides a student who strives for academic and extracurricular achievement. The CGA Educational Foundation also funds a $2,000 Hall of Achievement scholarship named for the previous year’s Hall of Achievement inductee. This year the scholarship will honor two individuals; Darioush Khaledi, Chairman & CEO of K. V. Mart Company and Doug Detherage, Customer Development Director for Bimbo Bakeries USA. Legacy Scholarships Legacy Scholarships hold a special place within the Foundation because these individuals and their companies have made a long-term commitment of ten years to the program. Each Legacy Scholarship honors an individual or company with a $1,000 college scholarship in the person or company’s name. For the 2010/11 program, the Trustees are thrilled to welcome our fifteenth donor, Allan & Mary Scharn, formerly of Gelson's Markets. Bill MacAloney, Chairman of Jax Markets and a participant in the Legacy Scholarship program, shared his thoughts on the College Scholarship Program. “It is very gratifying for us to give back to the children of our community. Providing college scholarships through the CGA Educational Foundation is just one of the tangible ways we do that,” MacAloney said recently. “When we see the second and third generations of our employees benefiting from the college tuition funds our scholarships provide, we know we are making a positive impact in their lives.” Donor Scholarships Donor Scholarships are funded by unrestricted donations to our scholarship fund and are offered to CGA member employees or employees’ sons and daughters. This year we are pleased to have the following companies and organizations participate in our Donor Scholarships: The Illuminators Educational Foundation, HOWS Markets, Quik Stop Markets, Classic Wines of California, and Stanislaus County Grocers Association. Piggyback Partnership Scholarships The CGA Educational Foundation also offers company funded “Piggyback Partnership Scholarships”. These are designed so that individual member companies can offer scholarships to their employees or their employees’ children. By applying for their company’s scholarships, employees automatically become eligible for CGAEF, Legacy and Donor scholarships as well. In 2010, 25 member companies are participating in our Piggyback Partnership Program. Sherry Hughes of Ralphs Grocery Co./Food 4 Less voiced her support of the program, "Education of employees is key to any company’s success. Ralphs and Food 4 Less are proud to partner with CGA on this very important program to ensure that our employees have the opportunity to further their education and reach personal goals” she said. Recipients are selected by a third party company, International Scholarship & Tuition Services, Inc., which is based in Nashville, Tennessee. ISTS associates gather all of the scholarship applications and supporting documentation. They then use a unique Academic Index to process each application that includes class rank, high school GPA, SAT and ACT scores and college GPA. From here a selection committee that includes high school guidance counselors, financial aid officers and seasoned staff from International Scholarship & Tuition Services evaluates each application, enabling the Foundation and CGA members to enjoy an unbiased, “hands-off” selection process. ISTS has been with the Educational Foundation since our very first college scholarship was awarded in 1998. Other clients of ISTS include Wal-Mart, Tylenol and Dell Computers. Education Programs The CGA Educational Foundation is very proud to sponsor specific seminars that address important, timely issues for the grocery industry. In August 2009, the Foundation partnered with the Food Marketing Institute to present the 2009 Food Industry Sustainability Summit. Nealy 400 top grocery retailers, suppliers and wholesalers, along with government officials, NGOs and academia participated in this three-day seminar focusing on the latest advancements in and applications of sustainable practices in a retail enviroment. CGAEF was the lead sponsor for the Organized Retail Crime seminars that took place in February and May of 2006. Organized Retail Crime is not only a problem for the grocer’s bottom line but also a significant public safety concern. The seminars, which were attended by over 600 individuals, helped the industry and law enforcement officials understand its impact and identify strategies to be part of the solution. These are just a few examples of how the Foundation strives to be on the cutting edge of issues affecting our industry. When asked to describe the importance of such events, former Chairman of the Board of Trustees Allan Scharn said, “The Foundation serves a broad constituency, from entry level personnel to senior management. The educational seminars that we have sponsored enable us to offer useful, targeted training to a specific audience.” Industry Research The Foundation and the California Grocers Association have completed their first large-scale research project – a statewide food industry charitable contribution study that will quantify the efforts of the grocery business to help improve the quality of life through charitable contributions and donations for those living in California. The Foundation is excited to present the results of this research and is confident it will affirm what the industry already knows: the people of the grocery industry have big hearts and are leaders in making California communities great places to live. Hall of Achievement Of course, all of these programs need money to operate. To provide these funds, we can go back to the Foundation’s roots. When the original Trustees began their efforts, the first step they took was establishing a source of revenue. This came in the form of what is now our annual Hall of Achievement Dinner and Induction ceremony. Each year the Trustees take great pride in honoring the creative, hard-working and often times maverick individuals who make the grocery industry a great place to spend your career. In 2008 the Foundation honored Larree Renda, Executive VP, Chief Strategist & Administrative Officer of Safeway Inc. Bob Wilson, Director of Business Development for Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream and a former Trustee, summed up the past, present and future of the Educational Foundation, “In the formative year or two, a small, start-up Educational Foundation idea developed into a large, efficient Foundation that has benefited countless individuals within the food industry. Every CGA member company needs to know what the Foundation is providing so that they and their employees are maximizing the phenomenal tools that are there for them.” To get involved with the CGA Educational Foundation and take advantage of the educational opportunities and information offered, please email Brianne Korte, or call (916)448-3545. Additional information is available online. |
|
Copyright ©2010 California Grocers Association. All rights reserved.