When Business is Good

Challenging times. Slightly over a month ago the London Food Bank assisted 3500 families a month – the highest in 25 years. And now we have learned, only a month later, that another 160 families was added to that total in the month of January.Some folks continue to maintain that we are slowly putting the Great Recession behind us, but, really, it all depends who you ask. For a great many people and their families hard times are pressing in.As attention focuses on the excesses of uber-capitalism, we often overlook those local businesses that have faithful assisted in building our communities. Some are fairly recent; others have been improving our quality of life for decades. When Gustave Flaubert concluded, “As humanity perfects itself, people become degraded. When everything is reduced to the mere counter-balancing of economic interest, what room will there be for virtue?” he was overlooking those kind of community businesses that have learned to mix profit, fairness and compassion in rich measure.There are truly difficult days ahead for all food banks and social agencies across the country. But as the video below shows, the future is not without its examples of virtue. You’ll see Adam Green from the Red Roaster handing over a cheque to the food bank board from the proceeds gleaned from a certain burger made by his establishment. I’ve now known Adam for some time and I have witnessed a businessman taking on increasing responsibilities for the welfare of his community. And then there is one of London’s leading legal firms – Harrison Pensa. It assisted in bettering our city from the moment of its founding, often in ways not really appreciated. The firm’s patriarch, Claude Pensa, has fought for human rights his entire life and brought that passion into his firm. It’s a unique mix that makes for an advocative spirit working its way through the complex world of law. Now they have discovered an innovative way of extending their commitment to the broader community in a way that will assist people in hunger – a perfect extension of the spirit of Claude Pensa himself.So here’s to good business and business that is good. Our community is full of such integral entrepreneurs and we as a food bank are blessed as a result. For every Caterpillar Inc. there are thousands of people just like Adam, Jodi, Geoff and Claude, and businesses just like Red Roaster and Harrison Pensa. The future of a meaningful and redeemed capitalism resides with them and by helping them succeed, our communities succeed. This brief video is just a brief way of acknowledging this ever-present reality in our city and of saying thanks for the leadership.http://youtu.be/m7x4Zbgl9CI