We were recently asked how much of Sequoia goes back into our Community on one of our ads. We had never been asked this question, so we decided to write a blog about it.
Here is the breakdown of what goes into our Community;
1) We have 9 Full-Time Employees who are all from our Community (Kahnawake). So, their salaries all go back into the Community but more importantly, they get to work 5 minutes from their home.
2) We have other part-time or on-call workers, all from the Community as well.
3) We pay rent for our store and our Warehouse, both of which are in Kahnawake. One is privately owned and helps a family while the other is owned by the Economic Development Commission, whose goal is to put money into the Community.
4) We pay into Mohawk Self Insurance for all of our staff, which is part of the local government and all of that money goes back into the Community. This payment is not mandatory. It's voluntary.
5) We help various Community fundraisers by donating gifts for prizes or in other ways.
6) Though we do not need more workers, we take part in Community programs that give Youth work experience. There are 3 programs designed to give youth work experience and we participate in them all. Not only does this offer these youth paid employment,
7) We collaborate or hire local Community artists (ie: Graphic Designers, Photographers, Video Editors, Designers, Artists).
8) We have at least 10 outings per year as a staff at a local Community restaurant and most of our staff orders out for lunch from a Community restaurant approximately once per week per staff member.
9) We buy supplies for Sequoia from local Community stores.
10) Two local Community shops wholesale Sequoia products and sell them in their retail establishments, helping grow their businesses.
11) Whenever we need repairs, we hire local carpenters.
12) We usually run a promotion where profits go to our Community's Mohawk Language Nest, a program for parents and children to learn the language together.
Overall, we estimate that approximately 50% goes right back into our Community. We do have to advertise, pay for apps, web services, ingredients and other supplies outside of our Community (within Canada and sometimes the US) but we are very proud of what we give back to our Community.
