A passion for giving back to the communities BI-LO serves has been a part of the BI-LO DNA since the days of Frank Outlaw 50 years ago. That manifested itself in a big way 28 years ago when our then CEO Mr. Bill Yingling, Mr. Dean Anderson, principal in Leslie Advertising and Mr. Larry Greer, a food broker, decided to help a struggling Meals on Wheels through some difficult financial times by holding a small golf tournament. They raised $30,000 that year and had so much fun doing it that they decided to repeat the event. It has been an annual vendor attended event since 1985, raising a total of $58 million charitable dollars. Those dollars have been reinvested into the communities served by BI-LO, in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee.
The tournament itself brings up to 1,400 golfers to the Upstate for a weekend of fun for a good cause. That makes this event the largest non-celebrity tournament in the United States. In 2011, the BI-LO Charity Classic raised $4.9 million for charity.
The philanthropic focus for these charitable dollars was determined by our customers, who tell us the areas they want to see BI-LO support are the needs of children, quality education and hunger relief. So funds are distributed each year to charitable organizations which make a sustainable difference in these three areas.
BI-LO Charities is a non-profit foundation managing all the philanthropic needs of the company. We conduct two Hunger Relief drives each year to support over 90 food banks. Over 500,000 pounds of food is donated through this drive. For over 15 years, we have been a sponsor of the Susan G. Komen For The Cure in the Upstate. Together with support from our customers, we raised $101,000 for local women struggling with breast cancer during the months of September and October this year.
One of the most popular events we manage is Sippin’ Safari, a fundraiser for the Greenville Zoo. This event, now in its sixth year, is an adults only evening with wine tasting, entertainment, food sampling and a silent auction. Over $100,000 has been raised to provide educational programs for area school children.
Our BI-LO Teammates support the company’s commitments to their communities through a vibrant employee giving campaign. We were delighted to see Teammates participate by not only giving their time through volunteering, but nearly 45% make financial donations through their paychecks each week.
It is really a privilege to be connected to a company made up of dedicated employees, who believe so strongly in investing where they live.