International Day of Charity: Meet McCormick’s 2023 Community Impact Award Finalists

McCormick believes in giving back to the communities in which we live and work. Each year, we recognize employees who embrace community service by giving back in extraordinary ways through the Community Impact Awards. On International Day of Charity, we’re excited to announce the five finalists for our 2023 awards. And congratulations to Claire Laurencin for being the 2023 Community Impact Award Winner! 
 Get to know each finalist by reading their stories below.

1. Claire Laurencin, Quality Assurance Manager in Carpentras, McCormick France.

Claire Laurencin, Quality Assurance Manager at our Carpentras site in France, began volunteering for Le Pont Cedek 15 years ago to help the African village where her father was born. Le Pont Cedek supports education, healthcare, and other basic needs for the 13,000 people who call the village of Kessounou in Benin home. Claire is part of the organization’s leadership team, serves as the Marketing Communications Manager, and is heavily involved in all fundraising activities.  
 
Le Pont Cedek built the Second Chance School in Kessounou, which provides vocational training to young adults who don’t have many opportunities. They also finance four years of study for five young girls from the village at a boarding school, and an 18-month agriculture training apprenticeship for three young boys on area farms.

“Kessounou has no electricity or running water,” says Claire. “There is not enough food and not many opportunities to go to school. As I looked at the difference between my life in Europe and the life of the villagers, I couldn’t sit by and do nothing.”  

Claire has visited the village frequently on two-week missions, during which she helped distribute clothes and other supplies and organized events for children. She launched a crowdfunding campaign last year that allowed the organization to finance and distribute school kits to 700 children.

In addition to the school supplies, Claire says her team has organized eye exams and distributed prescription glasses for students in the primary school with the help of volunteer doctors. The organization’s next big project is to refurbish a building for a college.

2. Ron Taylor, Principal Research Chef, Brand Aromatics in Lakewood, NJ, United States. 

LADACIN Network is an organization that provides educational, therapeutic, social, and residential support to infants, children, and adults with complex physical and developmental disabilities. In 2018, Ron Taylor missed the opportunity to participate in a charity event at a local LADACIN Network adult day facility doing landscaping and painting.

“I had no experience working with people who have severe disabilities, but I wanted to give back like my team did,” he says.  “I contacted the facility’s director to ask what I could do to help.”

The facility was looking for people to do enrichment activities and demonstrations for their program’s participants. Taylor is now invested in the people and the organization, offering cooking demonstrations and leading other activities that help increase self-sufficiency for people with disabilities. He also helps with fundraising activities, is an active participant on their golf event committee, and volunteers at the facility’s special events.

Because of Ron’s extraordinary efforts, he was awarded the LADACIN’s Humanitarian award in 2021, and he was recognized by the New Jersey State Senate and General Assembly for his commitment to the LADACIN Network and its clients.

For others who may be unsure about volunteering, Taylor says “If you want to volunteer, look for a cause that you are passionate about. Everyone’s lives are very busy, but if it is a charity that you are truly passionate about, you’ll make time. Donating even a small amount of time can make a big impact and change someone’s life in a profound way.”  

3. Andreea Turcu, Chief Accountant, McCormick Bucharest.

Andreea Turcu volunteers with her husband and daughter at Fabrica de Daruri, an organization that gives donated food, school supplies, clothing, and other basic essentials to families in Bucharest and the surrounding communities. 

“For most of us, eating is something we take for granted. But for children in need, they may just eat once a day when they receive a sandwich at school through a government program. They are starving. When we give them groceries, you can see the happiness on their faces. It’s like Christmas,” Andreea says.  

Andreea is an active part of the Fabrica de Darui community, and she delivers donated food and other supplies directly to families. She also helps with fundraising activities and donation drives, including an event at the start of the school year to distribute school supplies, clothes, and shoes to children. They also run holiday celebrations and offer special programs for kids. 

Andreea is currently fundraising for the organization’s next big project – opening a day center for children. The day center will be a place where kids can receive a hot meal, homework help, life skills training, and participate in extracurricular activities. 

Andreea offers this advice to others thinking about volunteering: “Volunteer somewhere that you care deeply about because it is not an easy job. But, if it is something you are passionate about, it can charge your batteries and get you excited for a new day.”    

4. Dedrick Tillerson, Site HR Director, Dallas Plant in Texas, United States. 

Dedrick Tillerson has volunteered at Each Reach Teach Push 1 for five years. The organization supports at-risk youth and their families, providing athletic training through their competitive Push 1 Volleyball Club, building college readiness skills, and mentoring youth who may be struggling academically and socially. 

“Playing club volleyball is very expensive. For lower-income families, while they may have talented children, they can’t afford the opportunity to get the training and exposure their kids need to nurture that talent, so it goes untapped,” says Dedrick. “When that happens, another kid loses out on opportunities to use athletics as a gateway to college.” 

Dedrick has mentored over 280 young men and women, leading life skills classes and recruiting and organizing volunteer coaches and trainers. He says that his experience as a minority student-athlete inspires him to help these young athletes and give them opportunities that were missing in his childhood.

Volunteering with the Each Reach Teach Push 1 program has also allowed Dedrick to partner with the 4US Sports Foundation, which supports LGBTQ+ youth athletes. “The partnership helps give a voice to youth who struggle with their identity. As a child who also struggled with my identity, it is my mission to be there for anyone who feels like they don’t have a place in the sports arena.” 

In addition to mentoring and supporting the volunteer coaches, Dedrick coordinates athletic events and fundraising initiatives. The organization is working on fundraising to open a new full-service training gym for volleyball. 

5. Niki Wilson, Manager, CPD Sales in Arkansas, United States. 

For the last three years, Niki Wilson has volunteered at For the Love NWA, a food truck that serves free meals to the homeless and vulnerable in Northwest Arkansas. For the Love NWA hosts weekly Neighbor Nights, where an estimated 350 people attend. 

“Nobody pays, and nobody goes home hungry,” Niki says. She attends most of the organization’s Neighbor Nights and has become a familiar friendly face to the neighborhoods, which is crucial to the success of the mission and allows For the Love NWA to build trust with those in need. 

In addition to Neighbor Nights, Niki volunteers when the For the Love food truck does other community outreach activities, including serving food to communities hit by recent tornadoes and hosting meals during the holidays. 

One of her favorite parts about volunteering at For the Love is when people share their good news, and the group can celebrate with them. 
"We have celebrated birthdays, engagements, sobriety, and people securing housing …we celebrated someone’s birthday one night, and he told me that he hadn’t celebrated his birthday in 20 years because he didn’t have anyone to celebrate it with,” Niki says. 

Niki believes in the power of food and flavor to bring people together, and in the power of volunteering to change not only the lives of people in need but also the lives of volunteers themselves.

Follow the Flavor Forward Blog and McCormick & Company on LinkedIn and Instagram for company news and updates.