Story and slideshow by ABIGAIL SABIR
As consumers, we have the power to influence our community through our consumption. We can contribute to philanthropic efforts that local businesses are making, giving a purpose to our spending. This can make a difference in how we choose to consume, as well as change our perspective on spending hard earned money. In the Salt Lake Valley there are many companies that are making noteworthy efforts to give back to both local and global charities.
Even Stevens, Cotopaxi and Stonehaven Dental are three companies that give to charity in various ways. Each company strives to make a contribution whether local, statewide or international.
Even Stevens currently has 20 locations throughout six states and for each shop opened it pairs with four different nonprofits. Sara Day, co-founder and cause director for Even Stevens, said in an email interview, “We knew we wanted to open a cool, localized sandwich shop that gave back in some way.” It first started selling sandwiches in Salt Lake City in 2014 and the downtown location at 414 E. 200 South donates to YWCA Utah, Volunteers of America, The Good Samaritan Program and Rescue Mission. Day said that as of December 2017, Even Stevens will have 80 nonprofit partners.
Each month 54 cents of each sandwich sold is put into an account for the chosen nonprofits that each location is partnered with. Those nonprofits then use the funds to buy sandwich ingredients or operational supplies, according to the cause page on the Even Stevens website. The website also provides monthly articles about its current work, and as of November 2017, 2 million sandwiches have been donated, equal to over $1 million allocated to its nonprofit partners.
With a passion for addressing the food insecurity that 1 in 8 Americans face, Day said in an email that the founders “wanted to be more than just another sandwich shop.” She also said, “I see Even Stevens growing and expanding across the entire U.S., right now we are focusing on the West Coast but want to take our product and program everywhere!”
Cotopaxi’s mission is to improve the human condition worldwide. It is an outdoor gear retail company with a location at 74 S. Main St. in Salt Lake City. Cotopaxi, according to its website, is a certified B corporation, which means it is a business that uses its force for making a positive impact on the global social, economic and environmental condition. Its products are also produced sustainably with close attention to detail and with Cotopaxi-exclusive llama fiber insulation in various products.
Loretta Beaty, who runs the impact sector and is the customer experience executive for Cotopaxi, believes it has a “good model for doing good.” Each year, Cotopaxi donates 2 percent of its annual revenue to various nonprofit organizations around the world that make an outstanding impact on humanity.
In 2016, the nonprofits that Cotopaxi donated to were located in Myanmar, Sub-Saharan Africa, India, Latin America, the Middle East and Europe. It has yet to choose all of the grantees for 2017 but the program-tailored donations will make an impact in people’s lives throughout the world based on its past achievements, highlighted on the website.
Cotopaxi’s 2016 impact report gives information on the work done. Among the reports from international grantees, it told of The Global Good Project and the Questival Adventure Race. The Global Good Project works in partnership with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to satisfy the diverse needs of refugees around Salt Lake. The Questival Adventure Race incorporates all local citizens for an adventure race based on service, teamwork, fitness and adventure.
Stonehaven Dental has also crossed national boundaries and done extensive local charity work. Dr. Eric Tobler, president of and dentist at Stonehaven Dental, and Mary Hegerman, marketing/human Resources director, discussed Stonehaven’s community involvement in an email interview. That involvement includes being a part of a national organization called Dental Care for Children as well as hosting and being a part of local humanitarian efforts.
The dentists, dental assistants, support personnel and even a University of Utah dental student have gone to Mexico for humanitarian trips with the Dental Care for Children organization. Stonehaven has been taking trips for six years but the organization holds monthly trips to Mexico, Haiti and Southern California.
With locations in Salt Lake and Utah County, Stonehaven Dental’s local humanitarian work includes the Stonehaven Smiles event. It gives free dental care to the community each May. Tobler and Hegerman said that it been going for 10 years, serving nearly 1,500 patients. They also noted the effort that each dental office makes to be involved with local school programs, and there have been scholarships given to local high school students in the past.
According to Tobler and Hegerman, the staff at Stonehaven Dental has taken over 20 international trips and have either held or participated in nearly 60 local humanitarian days. As the president of Stonehaven Dental, Tobler stressed how important giving back is to the whole Stonehaven team.
Each of the local businesses previously mentioned has its own model for doing good, so just by buying a sandwich, a backpack, or even going to the dentist, we can each give back to the local and global community.
U NewsWriting 