October 9 (Chicago, IL) – Good Sam, the world’s largest RV owners organization and Camping World, the nation’s largest RV and outdoor retailer, today announced as part of their 2013 goal to foster corporate social responsibility, the launch of a new employee-related initiative called ‘Project Good Samaritan’ dedicated to its mission of making our community a better place both as corporate citizens and for individual employees through a dedicated focus on philanthropy.
The new initiative, ‘Project Good Samaritan,’ provides for the staff to volunteer eight hours of their work time a quarter to causes that are meaningful to them, such as lending support to local soup kitchens and food pantries, community projects such as home building and meal distribution for needy families, recycling programs, homeless shelters, nursing homes, and other worthwhile causes within their communities while the employee receives paid time off from work to participate.
“We believe that every corner of the organization, from the corporate office to our retail stores, call centers and RV dealerships across the US; our employees believe in our corporate responsibility, and will be excited to execute this program,” said Marcus Lemonis, Chairman and CEO of Good Sam and Camping World. “We’ve had an amazing year and are eager to give back and support charitable organizations. It occurred to us that we could have a greater impact and help more people in our communities by using our staff on an ongoing basis.”
“As cliché as this sounds, I feel 100% confident to say that in addition to our strong and loyal customer base, we’ve been blessed with the best associates in the industry, and they are the reason for our level of success,” continued Lemonis. “As we continue to succeed in the industry it is important to help those less fortunate and it is wonderful to see what community impact our employees can and will make every day as they set an example for all of us.“
Marcus Lemonis recently led by example with his participation on ABC’s “Secret Millionaire” this past summer. He returned to his hometown of Miami for a specific episode of “Secret Millionaire” where he worked with three charity organizations to help provide the resources for them to succeed.
Good Sam, along with its sister company, Camping World currently employs approximately 5,000 associates and is the largest workforce in the Outdoor and RV Industries operating locations in 33 states.
“Good Sam and Camping World employees walk the talk when it comes to social responsibility and giving back to local communities,” said Zrinka Allen, EVP Human Resources and Social Responsibility. “Our long term goal is to continue developing and promoting initiatives that keep the company and associates focused on giving back locally, consistent with the charter of the Good Sam Club in 1966 “people helping people.”