Community Relations in Action: Exploring Heaven Hill’s Efforts Through the Years
Heaven Hill’s Community Relations efforts have evolved through the years as we began supporting more communities and organizations close to the Heaven Hill family, further positioning the company as a neighbor of choice. Today, we will walk through some of the specific projects we have worked on over more recent years.
2017
Heaven Hill strategically focused on the three areas of our Community Relations strategy, Education, Cultural Enrichment, and Health and Well-being, within the Kentucky regions. Focusing on areas where Heaven Hill’s headquarters are located allowed us to foster relationships with key partners in Bardstown, Metro Louisville, and West Louisville which continue to this day.
Through support of the Kentucky Science Center, a mobile educational unit was deployed to Nelson County elementary schools where all-school assemblies introduced students to the program, followed by individual classroom deep dives into age-appropriate concepts. In support of fostering institutional and organic relationships in West Louisville, Heaven Hill partnered with Dare to Care to provide freezers for partner agencies in the neighborhood and a mobile pantry unit, as well as establishing two scholarships for Heaven Hill scholars at Simmons College. In Metro Louisville, Heaven Hill continued to support local organizations through sponsorships of the Speed Museum Gala and the Doctors’ Ball (Kentucky One Health), as well as a company-wide, employee-driven fundraiser to support Portland Elementary.
2018
Several key partnerships were established to support Heaven Hill’s mission in the key regions. Grassroots initiatives in the West Louisville community and California neighborhood took shape through a beautification effort to build goodwill. Support of the Speed Art Museum enabled the organization’s Art Detectives Program to travel to Bardstown elementary schools and bring exhibits to the classes for an engaging, educational cultural enrichment experience. A new partnership with Junior Achievement supported a newly developed program called “JA Real Jobs, Real World,” where all ninth graders in Jefferson County Public Schools have the opportunity to learn about career options after high school. In partnership with Brightside, as well as an eye towards beautification and enrichment of West Louisville, Heaven Hill supported a community wide clean up and tree planting day for 2018.
Finally, each year Heaven Hill hosts the Annual Philanthropy Project, an employee-led fundraising effort supporting a local charity. In 2018, employees worked together to raise nearly $28,000 for Project Hope. Project Hope was Flaget Memorial Hospital Foundation’s mission to raise $1.1 million for one of the most critical projects in Nelson and surrounding counties, an expanded cancer center.
2019
For 2019, Fostering grassroots allies, solidifying long term partners, and working in conjunction with other businesses was of key focus. Building out strategies in other key communities such as Lethbridge and Buda began taking shape.
The year brought opportunity to expand our support internationally through a $10,000 donation to the United Way of Lethbridge & South Western Alberta on behalf of our new employees at Black Velvet Canadian Whisky. This donation allowed Heaven Hill to support a brand new community with the acquisition of the brand. We also continued our efforts across our other communities while identifying other areas of need that fit within our mission. Heaven Hill has a long-standing history of supporting Flaget Memorial Hospital in Bardstown, Kentucky. In 2019, the company donated $100,000 to Flaget in support of Project Hope and construction of the hospital’s new CHI Saint Joseph Health Cancer Care Center. Additionally, the company hosted a number of fundraisers at the Bourbon Heritage Center benefiting Project Hope throughout the year including A Cure Under Construction and Fifty Shades of Pink.
Heaven Hill also supported the Stephen Foster Story in Bardstown, a show is set in the mid-19th century and follows America’s first great composer Stephen Collins Foster as he paves the road for future songwriters through love, heartache, and the struggles of the time. During the 2019 Annual Philanthropy Project, Heaven Hill employees raised a grand total of $16,512.67 for the Coalition for the Homeless, a charity submitted by Bottling House Maintenance Technician Bettye Jo Boone.
2020
Finally, 2020 brought swift changes due to COVID-19. The groundwork laid in the past three years built a foundation for strong relationships within each of the key community focus areas, with an eye towards strategic allies that align with the core mission. This framework allowed us to quickly identify partners within each community to donate to in response to COVID-19, while invigorating employee engagement through local sales market initiatives.
2020 was a challenging time for communities across the world, and Heaven Hill was dedicated to supporting those we could. To show our support, Heaven Hill pledged $400,000 across two main priorities – employee communities and hospitality professionals. Recognizing the effect of coronavirus on so many individuals, these funds were distributed across the following community partner funds:
- Louisville, Ky. – One Louisville
- Bardstown, Ky. – Tri-County United Way
- Austin, Texas – Stand with Austin
- Lethbridge, Canada – United Way of Lethbridge & South Western Alberta
- Dublin, Ireland – Community Foundation of Ireland
In support of the hospitality professionals that partner with Heaven Hill day-to-day to support business, we contributed donations directly to local market charitable organizations. The Heaven Hill sales team mobilized efforts across their local communities to assist local non-profits directly supporting industry professionals and their families.
In addition, Heaven Hill committed parts of operations to the production, bottling and distribution of hand sanitizer. These efforts supported healthcare facilities, first responders, and high-risk populations in cooperation with local and state government. Hand-production, hand-bottling, and hand-labeling of hand sanitizer took place at the Evan Williams Bourbon Experience in Downtown Louisville, Kentucky and the Deep Eddy Vodka Tasting Room in Dripping Springs, Texas; and bulk production took place at Heaven Hill’s Bardstown facility; the Deep Eddy Vodka Distillery in Buda, Texas; and Black Velvet Distillery in Lethbridge, Canada.
Finally, the 2020 Annual Philanthropy Project took on a digital format as many employees worked remotely due to COVID-19. Together, the employees of Heaven Hill raised over $13,000 for the Food Literacy Project, whose mission is to help youth transform their communities through food, farming and the land.
As the company continues to grow, Heaven Hill is committed to continuing our vision to improve the local communities in which our employees work and live, and being a neighbor of choice, offering charitable support for education, cultural enrichment, and health and well-being.
