On Friday, June 8th, GMS Tucker and Tools Source Warehouse employees stepped out from behind their desks and stepped onto stationary bikes – all for a good cause.
Employees visited Vibe Ride Grant Park to take part in a cycling class to benefit the GMS Family Fund. Riders could either be there in person or participate as a “ghost rider”. In all, more than $2,500 was raised for the GMS Family Fund.
“For the first fun-raising event for the GMS Family Fund, Kasey Warner came to me with the idea. Anyone who comes to me with an idea for an inexpensive event to raise money, I will definitely look into it,” said Mandie Dillard, VP of Program Development for the GMS Family Fund. “The purpose for this event was to bring awareness to the GMS Family Fund and bring our GMS employees and Tool Source employees together. The event lasted 45 minutes and we were able to raise $2,600 which is at least two grants from the GMS Family Fund.”
New England Gypsum (NEG) hosted our first ever “NEG Invitational” golf tournament benefiting the GMS Family Fund on Monday, May 8th. The tournament was held at the Ferncroft Country Club, north of Boston in Middleton, Massachusetts. While strong winds made course play challenging, participants still managed to have blast while also raising money for a worthy cause, the GMS Family Fund.
NEG is proud to announce that this year’s inaugural tournament was a fantastic success, and plans are already underway for another Family Fund tournament next year. In addition to the diverse mix of contractors, vendors, team members, and friends of NEG who came out in full force, we also managed to raise $75,000, all of which went to the Family Fund and the GMS team members it supports.
On September 28, Hurricane Ian made landfall in Florida and ravaged the Southeast, killing nearly 150 people, and leaving a wide path of destruction in its wake. In terms of property damage, the category 4 storm was one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.
In November, the Family Fund launched a campaign to assist team members across the Southeast who were dealing with the devastating effects of this storm. We felt a responsibility to help our GMS family during this difficult time, so GMS offered to match all donations 100%, dollar for dollar up to $50,000 to help support these affected team members.
We’re happy to share that because of your kind contributions, combined with donations from our GMS Board of Directors, we surpassed our $50,000 goal! As promised, GMS matched that amount and has been providing monetary assistance directly to those affected so that our team members can get back on their feet.
The GMS Family Fund was front and center at the 2022 GMS Expo. Held at the Cobb Galleria in Atlanta on October 12 – 13, 2022, the Expo brought together GMS vendors, customers, and team members for an action-packed, day-and-a-half of networking, product demonstrations, and other activities. The Family Fund managed a booth of promotional materials that also featured the famous FF Plinko game that was an Expo hit. Proceeds from the Plinko game and other prize raffles raised more than $2,430.
On September 14, 2022, the Family Fund hosted a “Family FUNDay” luncheon and cornhole tournament at the GMS Field Support Center in Tucker, GA.
On September 13-15, leaders from around GMS gathered in Dallas, Texas for the 2023 Managers Meeting. Family Fund volunteers were on hand to raise awareness for the Fund’s mission during registration, and later held a prize raffle during the opening cocktail reception that raised $3,478 for the Fund.