A Look at How we Gave Back in 2019
Our founder, W. Clement Stone, had a vision to make the world a better place. Coming from a humble background, he sold the Examiner newspaper at the age of 6 on Chicago’s south side, thus launching his sales career. At the age of 13, he was running his own newsstand, and in 1919 he opened an insurance agency with his mother in Detroit, MI. In 1922, Mr. Stone borrowed $100, moved to Chicago, rented desk space for $25 a month, and established an insurance agency under the name of Combined Registry Company.1
Guided by a positive attitude and taking to heart his motto, “Do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do”, W. Clement Stone continued to grow his company, and today it is part of the Chubb family of companies. PMA (positive mental attitude), philanthropy, politics and religion were the foundations on which Mr. Stone lived his life and built his company. Executive Director of the W. Clement and Jessie V. Stone Foundationlink opens in a new window from 1974-1998, Maree G. Bullock, stated, “Even before he (Mr. Stone) started to amass a fortune, he was very philanthropic. His philanthropic reach has been far and deep…from education to mental health to religion to youth development.”1
The vast majority of giving back occurs through Mr. Stone’s foundation, but at Combined Insurance it is one of our core missions and great privileges to give back to the places where we live and work, honoring Mr. Stone’s desire to “change the world and make it a better place for this and future generations”1 in our own way.
By consistently being committed to giving back, we have carried on the spirit of our founder, W. Clement Stone, and his desire to make a real difference for people who need help.
In 2019 alone, we donated our time or monetary support to the following organizations:
- Luke’s Wingslink opens in a new window
- Heartland Alliancelink opens in a new window
- American Cancer Societylink opens in a new window
- CASA Kane Countylink opens in a new window
- Mujeres Latinas en Accionlink opens in a new window
- Casa Centrallink opens in a new window
- Misericordialink opens in a new window
- USO of Illinoislink opens in a new window
- Toys for Kids Miamilink opens in a new window
- VFW Post 311 Commanders Balllink opens in a new window
- Chicago Latino Networklink opens in a new window
- OneSightlink opens in a new window
- JDRFlink opens in a new window
- 2019 Trinity Turkey Trot
- Kids Ranklink opens in a new window
Many of our organizations are veteran-focused. We have a strong commitment to supporting our nation’s military men and women and take great pride in repeatedly being designated the nation’s #1 Military Friendly Employer by Viqtory Media.
As we look back at 2019 and look forward to 2020, we are thankful to have been able to give back to these organizations that make a difference around our corporate home of Chicago and beyond, and we look forward to continuing to support charitable organizations where we live and work. We think our founder, W. Clement Stone, would be proud.
References:
1-Fairlamb, S., Wallace, V., Humble, E., & Franz, R. (n.d.). Celebrating 100 Years of W. Clement Stone. Chicago, IL: Combined Insurance Marketing Services Department.