Community Caring

At Donlen, we care about our employees, our customers, and the communities in which we live and serve. Giving back to our communities is one of the reasons Donlen employees enjoy working here.

Adopt a Head Start Classroom

The holidays can be tough when money is tight. That’s why Donlen partnered with Community Action Partnership of Lake County this holiday season to sponsor the Newport Head Start classroom.  This gave us the opportunity to make the holidays extra special by purchasing one Gift of Need (clothes or shoes) and one Gift of Fun (toys!) for each Head Start child. We are so happy to have the chance to make a positive impact on the lives of some of our youngest Lake County neighbors!

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Whittier Elementary School Supply Drive

School supply shopping can be costly. That’s why Donlen decided to lend a hand and throw a school supply drive for Whittier Elementary School in Waukegan, IL. Thanks to the willing participation of our employees, we donated backpacks full of supplies for students and classroom supplies for teachers (including a cricut cutting machine for DIY art projects). Donlen also gave each student a bookmark made of recycled tires and donated a reading nook complete with chairs, tables, mini sofas, and rugs to encourage students to read in a comfortable and quiet setting. Thanks to everyone who made this possible!  

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Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation

Every 2 minutes a child is diagnosed with cancer. There’s never been a more absolutely critical time to help fund cancer research. At Donlen, one of our biggest values lies simply in helping those who need help – our communities, friends, and family. A huge thank you to Hertz for supporting this initiative.

Bernie’s Books

Did you know that, in low-income areas, there is a ratio of 1 book per 300 children? Neither did we. That’s why Donlen partnered with Bernie’s Book Bank to sort and pack books to be distributed across the Chicagoland area. Additionally, Donlen employees gathered children’s books to donate them to Bernie’s Book Bank, and we’re proud to announce that we managed to collect 1,700 books! This amount has helped 340 children within our local community. We’re incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to give back to our community in a meaningful way like this, and we’re excited to keep doing so in the future!

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A Safe Place

Our employees came together to donate much-needed clothing and personal hygiene items to A Safe Place, an organization that provides shelter for families and individuals who are survivors of domestic violence. A group of Donlen volunteers personally delivered the items and then stayed to help set up for a V-Day celebration for the families that currently reside at the shelter. We’re incredibly grateful to have been able to partner with the wonderful people at A Safe Place.

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Treats for Troops

Donlen has always been invested in being a positive influence in our community and giving back in whatever way we can.

That’s why this year, after Halloween, Donlen started collecting Halloween candy to donate to the Treats for Troops candy drive through Soldier’s Angels. The program ships chocolate and candy leftover from Halloween to active members of the US military who are stationed overseas and to veterans in VA hospitals unable to enjoy the holiday (and the sweets that come with it).

All of Donlen’s employees pooled their stashes of sweets to produce a whopping 436 lbs. of candy! But we didn’t stop there. We also became a drop-off location for our Lake County community and invited our neighbors to donate as well. Local elementary school students AJ and Parker donated almost all of the Halloween candy they collected this year. East Lake Academy in Lake Forest, IL also joined in and donated several boxes of candy along with letters from students thanking members of the military for their service. Grayslake Middle School students participated as well, donating several boxes of treats collected after Halloween. By partnering with local schools, businesses, and community members, Donlen collected an incredible total of more than one ton of candy: 2,782 lbs. to be exact!

Donlen is so grateful to have been able to participate in an effort to engage our community and give back to the men and women of the US military. We have so much to be thankful for and it’s only right to give thanks to our troops, both active duty and in veteran hospitals. And, if we may, we’d like to encourage you to do the same.

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Habitat for Humanity

When it comes to improving your community, you get what you give. That’s why Donlen’s product team spent the day with Habitat for Humanity Lake County, IL building a home in Waukegan. We care about our community as well as the people who live in it, and we’d like to encourage you to do the same.

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WINGS Program, Inc.

For the past two years, Donlen has used our Employee Appreciation Week to host a fundraiser for a local charity. During Employee Appreciation Week, “appreciation candy bars” were for sale for employees to purchase for their co-workers. This year, Donlen chose to donate all of the proceeds from the candy sale to WINGS Program, Inc., an organization which provides housing, integrated services, education, and advocacy to end domestic violence.

Throughout Employee Appreciation Week Donlen employees purchased candy bars, each priced at $1, and together we raised $2,534 to donate to WINGS. We are proud to support such an important organization, and we look forward to partnering with WINGS for further fundraising initiatives in the future.