HBM Holdings and its employees proudly support the United Way
The United Way of Greater St. Louis holds a special place in our hearts for many reasons. The following story that the United Way shares on its website exemplifies the reason why 100% of our company employees support this charitable organization:
A young child named Shayana was born with hearing loss but her parents did not realize how severe her hearing loss was until their daughter was about 18-months old. After the audiologists confirmed the parents’ worst fear, they provided Shayna’s family with information about schools that could help their daughter learn to listen and speak.
They toured the Central Institute for the Deaf, a United Way funded agency, and Shayna’s mom, Kelley, said it immediately felt like home. The team of teachers, audiologists and other professionals use the auditory-oral method to teach children with hearing impairments to listen and speak without the need for sign language. After undergoing two cochlear implants, Shayna’s progress is amazing. Her vocabulary and her reasoning skills are blossoming right before her parents’ eyes and she has aspirations to be a teacher when she grows up. The goal is to one day soon move Shayna into a mainstream school – an outcome that initially Shayna’s parents did not know would be possible. Because of the funding from the United Way, Shayna was able to receive the services that her parents potentially could not provide on their own.
HBM’s CEO, Mike DeCola is currently the Chair of the Board of Directors for the United Way of Greater St. Louis. His ties to the United Way run deep as he has been involved with the organization in some fashion since he was a young boy. As a child, he benefited from a United Way agency and because of the influence the organization had on his life, he has remained involved.
In 2014, Mike Co-Chaired the St. Louis United Way Campaign with Scott Schnuck, raising a then record $73M for the organization. Mike’s passion for the United Way and the work it is doing in the community resonated with all the employees at HBM and Mississippi Lime, and we are so proud to have 100% employee participation and to have raised over $100,000 in 2016. Both HBM and Mississippi Lime employees will continue to participate in charitable giving for the United Way of Greater St. Louis in 2017 and years to come.
Collectively, we believe it is our duty as citizens to help raise up our communities and people in them so that we can all live our best possible lives. May you and your families have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.
“The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.” ~ Mitch Albom