Despite lean economic times, 78% of US consumers think companies should either maintain or increase their level of financial support for causes and nonprofit organizations, according to research conducted by Opinion Research Corporation for Cone.
The 2008 Cone Cause Evolution Study found that consumers are both more aware of and more receptive to cause-related messages than ever before, and they will reward socially conscious companies both with money and goodwill if they feel they are supporting a good cause.
While most consumers (75%) say it is important for companies to offer them …

Empty Pantry Fund food baskets were packed Thursday at the Tennessee Army National Guard Armory and delivered Sunday, giving the less-fortunate in Blount County the means of having a good Christmas dinner and then some — enough food to feed a family of four for over a week.
Recipients were not the only ones who received joy in the day, however. The volunteers who helped pack and deliver the foods were just as blessed, if their numbers are any indication.
Empty Pantry Fund Chairman Paul Bales said, “This was the biggest turnout …

Area business owners said, despite recent tough economic times, they were compelled to donate time and resources to remodel Maryville’s domestic violence shelter, the Haven House.
“Once you see what Haven House does, you have to be pretty cold-hearted not to want to help,” David Sallas with FGG Enterprises said. “We are awfully thankful for what they do.”
A June grease fire caused the sprinkler system to go off, which caused damage to the kitchen, the shelter’s executive director, Joani Shaver, said.
“It was water damage that was the worst part,” she said.
Haven …

A Louisville family recently received an early Christmas present courtesy of a Blount County excavation company.
Brian Lee Whitaker, a fifth-grader at Mary Blount Elementary School, and his family moved about five months ago to their Louisville house near Ian’s Market. The family’s driveway had deep, gutty potholes that prevented Brenda Jones, who operates a bus for children with special needs, from picking up Whitaker at his home.
Jones contacted Blount Excavating Inc. President Steve Garner, who told the bus driver that he and his employees would check it out. They later …

Though Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) are often called the “Me Generation,” they are increasingly focused on both donating their time to causes they believe in and patronizing merchants that promote the environment, according to a report from Focalyst.

Nearly 80% of US Boomers (59 million) are willing to volunteer their time for a good cause and 70% feel they have a responsibility to make the world a better place, the “Sharing Their Good Fortune: Boomers and Giving Back” study found.
Among Boomers, 18 million (25%) have actually volunteered their …