Enriching Our Communities

Community

We believe in giving back our time, energy, and resources to make a better world

At Merchants Fleet, we encourage our employees to enrich the communities in which they live and empower them in the pursuit of those efforts. Our organizational philosophy has been deeply vested since our inception and continues proudly today.

Throughout our history, our sense of responsibility has provided the necessary support and most importantly, offered hope for those in need. It is our promise to maintain our commitment to the benefit of the common good through the preservation of a corporate culture that celebrates and encourages community involvement, investment and volunteerism.

Sign Up for Our Merchants Fleet Report

Receive our weekly newsletter highlighting new content, fleet news, and industry events. One consolidated monthly email sent directly to your inbox.

Our Partnerships and Contributions

ESG: Merchants’ Community
At Merchants we don’t just talk about ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance), we live it every day! Our employees are committed to ‘doing well by doing good’, and we make it easy for them get involved. From Earth Day volunteer projects, and holiday bell ringing for the Salvation Army, to planting a Merchants community garden, and serving meals at local shelters. In 2022 we created a company-wide contest aimed at challenging employees to give back in ways that were important to them. The contest included opportunities for employees to volunteer for local causes, recognize their peers with ‘Employee Celebrations,’ and submit innovative ideas to positively impact our planet. The contest was a resounding success with 53% company participation. Employees fully embraced the ESG mindset by volunteering at park clean ups, soup kitchens, and refugee services throughout the country. Our employees logged over 500 volunteer hours, submitted more than 1,400 Employee Celebrations, and submitted 35 innovations to benefit our company and the world alike.

Vendor Database
Acting “responsibly” includes taking ownership of our business impact on our planet and our communities. A core tenant of Merchants Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy is to proactively seek and encourage the consideration of LOCAL competitive small-business vendors that are diversely owned, and or promote socially responsible business practices. This initiative has been adopted company-wide, with 75% of Merchants’ preferred vendors now being locally based, signaling our commitment to working with partners in OUR COMMUNITY who share our dedication to ESG initiatives.

American Red Cross
www.redcross.org

Now in it’s 35th year, the Gail Singer Memorial Blood Drive is our signature community activity and continues to raise the bar in helping to save lives. In 2011, it became the largest one-day community blood drive in the country and due to demand, now covers two full days. It is recognized as the largest community blood drive in the United States with over 2,000 donors attending, including the state’s business leaders, the Governor, and the Mayor of Manchester. One of Manchester’s signature events, it is held at a crucial time of year when donations are typically lower. In addition to the countless amount of donors, our team of employee volunteers help ensure a successful event. www.gailsingermemorial.org

Salvation Army

www.salvationarmyusa.org

Kettle Campaign
Over a 5 week period every winter, our employees bundle up and donate over 900 hours of their time towards this rewarding campaign, which enables the organization to maintain its year-round programs. We take great pride in being the largest contributor by organization in the Manchester area and we look forward to getting our scarfs, hats and hot chocolate ready in support of this great cause.

Santa Fund Luncheon
Coupled with corporate sponsorship, employee volunteers help create and disperse invitations as well as secure and collect auction gift baskets. These valuable dollars help provide warm clothing, meals and toys during the holidays, as well as procure the essential funding of this tremendous foundation.

Kid’s Cafe
Merchants Fleet takes part in the “Take A Bite Out of Hunger” campaign every year by helping to sell chocolate bunnies for Easter. All profits from this sale go directly to help fund the Salvation Army Kids Café, which serves nutritious meals to approximately 116 children, 4 nights a week, every week. We have also had employees bake goods for the Kids Café.

WayPoint (formerly Child and Family Services)

www.waypointnh.org

WZID Christmas is For Kids Radiothon
Hoping to add to the true meaning of the holidays, we are proud to be sponsors of this event, which grossed over $190,000 in 2018 in support of families across New Hampshire.

SleepOut
In an effort to raise awareness and funds in support of homeless youth, a group of employees take to the elements and spend a cold night outdoors. Through corporate sponsorship and individual donations, it is our pledge to transform lives.

Families in Transition-New Horizons

www.newhorizonsnh.org

Day of Caring
Once a year, Merchants Fleet volunteers roll up their sleeves and lend their hands to a project for Families in Transition – New Horizons, which provides homeless individuals and families support and opportunities to overcome their hardships in order to lead healthy and successful lives. Recently, we painted, cleaned, and stocked shelves at the New Horizons kitchen. We have also helped clean, sort clothes, and paint at their OutFITters Thrift Store and have tackled projects at their designated emergency shelter.

We also take part in other programs in support of these causes, such as the Annual Cinco de Mayo Celebration and Walk Against Hunger. In addition, on the 1st Wednesday of every other month, volunteers serve dinner for those in need at the New Horizons Soup Kitchen.

Ongoing Employee Programs and Initiatives

Understanding that work duties often come first in the lives of our team, Merchant Fleet offers staff members 16 hours of paid time to volunteer at local events, functions, and charities.
Merchants Fleet offers an employee match program, which provides our team the support they need to pursue their charitable efforts on an individualistic basis.