Small business owners and Better Business Bureau Pacific Southwest (BBB) volunteers came together across Phoenix, Orange County and San Diego to take part in National Volunteer Week events to reinforce the purpose behind BBB’s new social responsibility program BBB4Good.
Phoenix volunteers prepared and served hot meals at St. Vincent De Paul’s Family Dining Room to hundreds of local community members to those in need or who are experiencing homelessness. In addition to serving meals, some volunteers also led educational activities and provided homework help to the kids visiting St. Vincent de Paul’s Dream Center.
In California, Orange County volunteers donated their time and services to Second Harvest Food Bank Orange County, while San Diego small business owners and BBB employees took part in the I Love A Clean San Diego’s 21st Annual Creek to Bay Cleanup Day.
“As a small business owner, it's not just about what we can do for ourselves, but what we can do for the community that supports us. Serving meals at St. Vincent De Paul during National Volunteer Week was a great opportunity to give back and make a difference in the lives of people when they need it,” said CEO and Founder of SPIES, Single Professional Introductions (for the) Especially Selective, Roseann Higgins. “It was an incredibly fulfilling experience. I thank the BBB and the BBB4Good program for calling out purpose-driven small business owners like myself to create positive change in the community.”
BBB4Good builds upon BBB Accreditation and enables trustworthy, purpose-driven businesses to become ”BBB4Good Verified” by vetting their activities against both BBB Standards for Trust and BBB4Good Standards of higher purpose, community engagement, authentic marketing, and social and/or environmental impact substantiation.
“At BBB, we stand for what’s right not only in business, but for our entire ecosystem. We are guided by our mission to ethically contribute to social well-being and support those bringing value to our people, community and environment. We’re thrilled to be among the first of only six BBB locations in the U.S. and Canada to spearhead this important program to identify businesses that are committed to the same philosophy,” said Matthew Fehling, President/CEO for BBB Pacific Southwest.
By searching the growing list of purpose-driven businesses on BBB.org, consumers can find businesses that are creating value in their communities and have their dollars impact causes they care about. BBB4Good Verified Businesses will display the BBB4Good Trustmark.
Businesses interested in BBB4Good Verification can apply at bbb.org/bbb4good. BBB4Good is being launched in six communities in the United States and Canada via the BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust, BBB’s educational foundation, following a two-year pilot program.