Blackmer, part of PSG, a Dover company and a global leader in specialty pumps and reciprocating compressor technologies, is proud to be the recipient of the annual Community Partner Outreach Award from Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative (ELNC). ELNC is a nonprofit organization that is invested in changing the current reality of vulnerable children by implementing an Early Childhood Education service system aimed at providing, expanding and sustaining the capacity of high-quality early care and education programs in the vulnerable neighborhoods of Grand Rapids, MI.
The Community Partner Outreach Award recognizes an organization or business that values the community and the mission of ELNC. Each year, the award contenders are nominated by the ELNC staff, committees and leadership. The staff and leadership vote to narrow the nominations to four candidates. The ELNC Communications Committee then votes to determine the final two and leadership votes to name the winner.
“We are so honored to receive the Community Partner Outreach Award,” said Bob Lauson, Blackmer General Manager. “ELNC is an organization we stand behind and we are proud to support the important work they do for the community. We look forward to continuing our relationship with them in the years to come.”
The usual awards presentation at the ELNC gala was pivoted to a virtual ten-day gala in August to represent ELNC’s tenth anniversary. On the tenth day, the winner was announced.
“Everybody overwhelmingly voted for Blackmer because of their longevity with us and their donations,” stated Dr. Nkechy Ekere Ezeh, Founder/CEO, ELNC. “From the staff donating coats and notebooks, to Thanksgiving turkeys and Christmas hams, on top of the monetary donations from Blackmer and the Dover Foundation, you can’t get any better than that. It just goes to show that if you treat your staff well, like family, then they’ll create the culture of giving themselves. It’s a good partnership because Blackmer is a family-oriented organization. They understand the importance of family and when you support family, children flourish. You can see they understand this with the giving at Blackmer.”
One of ELNC's partner organizations is located six blocks from Blackmer. “We believe that one of our stakeholders is the local community and we have an obligation to be good stewards to all our stakeholders,” Bob Lauson said. “We recognize that being part of this community is a privilege and not taking that for granted means that we give back and support it.”
To learn more about Early Learning Neighborhood Collaborative, visit elncgr.org.
For more information on Blackmer, please go to blackmer.com. Blackmer is a product brand within PSG, a Dover company. For more information on PSG, please go to psgdover.com.