Wheeler Machinery is committed to being a valued neighbor in the communities in which our employees live and work. Wheeler routinely donates time, money and machines to support various community initiatives including youth sports, food drives, rodeos, cleanup efforts, cultural and educational initiatives and more.
Serving the communities in which we live and work, it’s what we’re built to do.
2015 Winner Best of State award for Community Development, Large Business
Utah Food Bank
Wheeler Machinery Co. has teamed up with the Utah Food Bank to help feed the 1 in 6 Utahans at risk of missing a meal each day. The Utah Food Bank asks people and companies to get involved in three ways: Give Food. Give Time. Give Money. To support these three ways of giving, Wheeler has committed to donating 2,000 pounds of food and 1,000 volunteer hours plus raising $50,000 annually. Funds are raised via voluntarily employee payroll contributions which Wheeler generously matches 2 to 1. To support employees in their volunteer efforts, Wheeler provides each employee with 4 hours of paid time off to use for community outreach activities.
For the 2015-2016 school year, Wheeler has adopted four local schools in Kearns and West Valley City where at least 50 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced-cost school lunches. Wheeler volunteers will help distribute backpacks of food to students at risk of going hungry when not at school.
Want to get involved? You’re welcomed and encouraged to join Wheeler employees for one of our upcoming volunteer shifts. Everyone who comes gets a volunteer T-shirt! E-mail sbanderson@wheelercat.com or call 801-978-1650 for details.
Community Outreach Projects
Wheeler’s branch stores span the state and regularly participate in a variety of beautification projects and quality of life improvement efforts in their local communities.
One such recent community project was revamping Richmond City Park. Wheeler employees of the Logan branch helped to revive this park that had become run down in recent years due to a lack of funding. By donating volunteer hours and the use of several Cat machines, Wheeler leveled and smoothed dirt in preparation of the pouring of concrete for four picnic areas. A winding creek area was dug using a Cat excavator, and boulders were placed along the creek’s outer edges. The park was transformed from a state of neglect to a beautiful park for families of the area to enjoy.
Another example of Wheeler giving back is the Ogden branch’s participation in “Take Pride in West Point.” Similar to the Richmond City Park project, Wheeler’s involvement with this community beautification effort was donating volunteer hours and the use of Cat machines complete with employees to operate them. Employees helped to reshape the pitcher mound and dirt around the baseball diamond’s infield. Employees also painted the park benches and pavilion.
Additionally, Wheeler helped the Boy Scouts in Southern Utah build a 1,000-foot cedar fence between both entrances of their facility. A Cat skid steer with an auger was used to dig the holes for the fence posts, and employees performed the manual labor necessary to place the fence posts.
A supplement to its community beautification projects, Wheeler helps to improve the lives of those in our communities through food and clothing drives. The Vernal branch donated 795 pounds of food, and the Lindon branch donated sleeping bags, hand warmers, winter hats and gloves. The Lindon branch donations totaled $600.
CHOICE Humanitarian
For three years, Wheeler Machinery Co. partnered with CHOICE Humanitarian as its flagship charity. This partnership’s goal was to eradicate extreme poverty by bulldozing the barriers that prevent rural villagers from attaining economic development and self-reliance. Over the course of Wheeler’s partnership with CHOICE, which began in the summer of 2012, Wheeler raised $675, 568 and sent 20+ employees on two fully-funded humanitarian expeditions to Mexico and Bolivia. Employees received personal paid time off during their expedition abroad, and all expedition-related expenses were paid by Wheeler (food, lodging, airfare, expedition fee). The partnership was termed “Bulldoze Barriers: Make the CHOICE to end Poverty”. Funds were raised via employee payroll contributions with a generous 2-to-1 company match, fundraising events such as the annual motorcycle ride and charity auctions. Additionally, Wheeler funds have been matched by The Caterpillar Foundation which will match Cat dealer donations up to $100,000 annually for environmental and sustainability conservation projects. For the last two years, Wheeler’s donations have qualified for the $100,000 Caterpillar Foundation annual match for CHOICE’s Wheeler funded work to plant seeds and transplant 100,000 trees in the Polochic region of Guatemala, as well as providing training for improved forestry and agricultural practices, and build 500 eco-stoves.
“I applaud Wheeler Machinery for their commitment to end poverty – in our backyard and abroad. Wheeler Machinery employees are part of the corporate movement to create lasting impact for those living on less than $2 a day. I’m humbled and inspired to partner with such a forward-thinking company,” says Leah Barker, CEO of CHOICE Humanitarian.
