Brookfield-based Hydrite has built a culture around community engagement. In 2023, the company provided support to 28 nonprofit organizations in the Milwaukee area through monetary donations and nearly 1,500 hours of volunteer service.
This impact is driven by the company’s “Hydrite Helps” philanthropy program, which launched in 2017. At each Hydrite location, a designated Hydrite Helps lead orchestrates volunteer initiatives and oversees a dedicated budget for donations to selected nonprofits. The program targets four areas: children’s needs and development, education, environmental conservation, and local needs, with a particular emphasis on combating food insecurity.
In 2023, Hydrite launched the following charitable initiatives: “Steals for Meals,” in collaboration with six minor league or college summer baseball teams and the Milwaukee Bucks, collectively raising roughly $80,000 for Feeding America and other local food banks; “Fridays on the Farm,” sending employee volunteers to Hunger Task Force’s farm in Franklin on Fridays in September to harvest half a million pounds of produce for families with limited access to fresh food; and a United Way campaign that resulted in a corporate match of more than $71,000 for employee donations to Children’s Hospital.
Other donations last year included: $15,000 between the Ronald McDonald House and Special Spaces; $5,000 to the Milwaukee School of Engineering; $400,000 to Marquette University High School; and $22,000 to Cristo Rey Jesuit High School.
“We will continue to strive for a world that has no worry about where the next meal will come from.”
– Judy Allen, marketing director, Hydrite
Corporate Citizen of the Year Finalist: Generac
Generac’s philanthropic efforts are focused in four areas: education, first responders, sustainability and community. In 2023, the Town of Genesee-based company and its foundation supported at least 400 organizations, largely in Wisconsin, through contributions and provided more than 2,400 volunteer hours of service.
Last year, Generac partnered with the Milwaukee School of Engineering STEM Center to create the Generac Youth Engineering Design Academy. Additional local organizations that benefited from Generac’s support of STEM education included WCTC, SHARP Literacy, Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee, College Possible Milwaukee, GPS Education Partners, i.c.stars Milwaukee, and more. All told, more than 50,000 students were impacted by a Generac-supported STEM program in 2023.
Generac also partnered with the American Red Cross Wisconsin Region to support the Sound the Alarm program in Milwaukee, which installs new smoke detectors in at-risk homes and provides educational information about escape plans and safety preparedness.
Additionally in 2023, Generac’s “Power Up with a Purpose” Summerfest promotion raised more than $55,000 to help fund a brand new blood services cargo van for the American Red Cross. Generac further supported the American Red Cross through sponsorship of the Brave Hearts event and three employee blood drives.
Corporate Citizen of the Year Finalist: Kohl’s
Throughout the company’s history Kohl’s has contributed nearly $160 million to Milwaukee nonprofits, including more than $7 million in 2023. Beneficiaries include the American Cancer Society, Children’s Wisconsin, Hunger Task Force and Milwaukee Public Museum.
In 2023, Kohl’s continued to strengthen its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion with nearly $1 million in donations to four hometown partners who serve underserved communities: Employ Milwaukee, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Milwaukee, NAMI Southeast Wisconsin and Greater Milwaukee Urban League.
Kohl’s has also made the commitment of donating $20 million to diverse communities from 2022 to 2025. The Pledge for Progress outlines how Kohl’s plans to deliver meaningful change for customers and the communities that Kohl’s serves.
Kohl’s employees support their communities year-round by volunteering their time with local nonprofits. In recognition of their efforts, Kohl’s donates $25 in rewards to a nonprofit for every approved volunteer hour. In 2023, employees volunteered more than 92,000 hours for more than 2,000 nonprofit organizations nationwide, including several local organizations: The Women’s Center in Waukesha, the Milwaukee Art Museum, Camp Hometown Heroes, Discovery World, Ronald McDonald House of Eastern Wisconsin and Hunger Task Force.
Corporate Citizen of the Year Finalist: WaterStone Bank
Through its foundation, established in 2002, Wauwatosa-based WaterStone Bank made more than $725,000 in contributions to 250 nonprofit organizations last year, and its employees volunteered more than 635 hours of service.
The company’s philanthropic efforts benefit the TMJ4 Community Baby Shower, Sojourner Family Peace Center, Children’s Wisconsin, Susan G. Komen, the Milwaukee Air & Water Show, Center for Veterans Issues and more than 40 local high schools.
Its support of Children’s Wisconsin includes employee volunteer service for the organization’s foster care division as well as financial support and volunteer time for its annual Miracle Marathon radiothon event. Plus, WaterStone’s Blue’s Jr. Bankers Kids Club allows customers to donate to Children’s Wisconsin for every youth savings account opened.
WaterStone sponsors the Susan G. Komen annual More Than Pink Walk and has been the presenting sponsor of the Milwaukee Air & Water Show since 2017.
Beyond community outreach, the bank offers the WeCare Employee Donation Match program, which encourages and promotes employee contributions to charitable causes of their choice, with a donation match provided by the WaterStone Bank Foundation to further encourage a commitment to corporate giving.
