I Am Rich’s

Name: Jennifer VanHoff

Title: Invoicing Specialist

Years with Rich’s: 9

Location: Rich’s World Headquarters, Buffalo, New York

Favorite Rich’s product: White Bread Dough, because when I was a kid, my mother made monkey bread with it on Saturday mornings. So, it’s a very special childhood memory.

Why did you first decide to become a volunteer or otherwise get involved in community service? I have always been the type of individual who pays it forward. Even when I was a temp here at Rich’s, I was doing Meals on Wheels. I believe I am truly blessed. My life events have made me the person I am today and there will always be someone whose existence I feel I can help make better.

What generally has been the nature of your volunteer contributions and commitment to “Bettering Your Community”? Traditionally, I choose volunteer opportunities that touch my heart, and while most of them do that, a few really stand out. I really want to help bring a brightness to someone’s day or life. Meals on Wheels helps me do that for the individuals on our route – they call me by name and when I call them by name, they smile and know that I am there to see them. It makes it all worth it. Recently, I have become more involved with Niagara Hospice, the place that helped my grandmother and me get through her end-of-life transition. Now, from that cherished experience, I can help other families come out on the other side of a loss better for having been through it. I know it’s a hard experience, but I survived it and I’m better for having had Niagara Hospice on my side.

How has being a Rich’s associate influenced or contributed to the success of your volunteer activities? No matter who, no matter what, no matter where, Rich’s inspires me. It has provided me the outlet to give, the opportunity to better people’s lives, and the promise to treat our community like family.

The company also has instilled in me its mission to “do what’s right, no matter what.” I can say wholeheartedly that the Rich’s family cares about our community, they care about what’s right and they care about me. In addition, one of my favorite authors once said, “Just do right,” so thank you, Maya Angelou, for teaching me to be the best human being I can be.

Dr. Maya Angelou: “Just Do Right”

What advice or message would you share with others to encourage them to get more involved in community service? Be a rainbow in someone else’s cloud. Be a blessing to someone who needs a blessing. Lift up a fellow human being – we should all be lifting each other up. Our pasts are full of events of tearing down and it is never too late to give. Give a hand, give a kind word, even give a tear if someone needs to share their sadness. Just GIVE.

Here at Rich’s, I can point out an opportunity for us as a company to help and the need is recognized and help is given. I have teamed up with some amazing people here. They are now my family and, as a family, we are a pretty strong force. And with the Rich’s family behind us, we accomplish some really extraordinary, mountain-moving things and deliver wonderful gifts to our community. We, as a company, need to be “a rainbow in someone else’s cloud.”

I Am Rich’s

Name: Michele Lamm Chapuis

Title: Senior Marketing Manager – International

Years with Rich’s: Almost 1 (started in April 2017)

Location: Rich’s World Headquarters, Buffalo, New York

Favorite Rich’s product: Mozzarella Sticks

Why did you first decide to become a volunteer or otherwise get involved in community service?  I initially got involved with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) as a “patient family” member in 2004 when my daughter, who was 26 months old at the time, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL). I experienced firsthand the amazing support that the LLS provides local families and the incredible advancements in treatment that the overall organization helps fund. Our involvement in local LLS events (specifically, the Light the Night Walk every September) during my daughter’s treatment also helped my family and me feel like we were doing something to help her fight the disease – it made us feel a little less “helpless.” I continue to be involved with the LLS (and was recently elected to the board of trustees for its Western & Central New York Chapter) to help other patients and families and as a way of giving back and expressing my gratitude for my daughter’s cure.

What generally has been the nature of your volunteer contributions and commitment to “Bettering Your Community”?  I’ve been the captain of our team, Rachel’s A.L.L. Stars, since our first LLS Buffalo Light the Night Walk in 2005. We were also an international team for a few of those years, when I was living in Switzerland – I started a walk there, so we had team members walking in both locations. Since joining Rich’s, I’ve taken on the role of captain of our company’s Light the Night Team, as well. In addition to volunteering with the LLS, I provide financial support to many other organizations, including St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Make-A-Wish, etc. I was also the leader of both of my daughters’ Girl Scout troops for 5-6 years, allowing me to encourage and influence the next generation of community supporters.

How has being a Rich’s associate influenced or contributed to the success of your volunteer activities?  Even before joining the company, I was well aware of Rich’s strong support of the community (it’s one of the reasons I wanted to work here). I had already worked with the company in various ways as a volunteer with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Now that I’m an associate, I see the support in so many additional ways, up to the highest levels of the company. I’m very thankful for Rich’s encouragement, support and flexibility, which allows me to give back to my community through the LLS. I also know that the LLS is very appreciative of the sincere and consistent support that Rich’s has been providing the organization over the years.

I Am Rich’s

Name: Michael Machowski

Title: Food Service Distribution Manager, Sales  

Years with Rich’s: Four

Location: Florida-based, US-remote

Favorite Rich’s product: On Top…of course!

Why did you first decide to become a volunteer or otherwise get involved in community service? In my position, I am able to give and receive a lot of samples. There have been many times when I’ve had leftover samples or access to items that usually would end up being wasted. Instead of just letting them be thrown away, I donate them to the Salvation Army Sarasota or Manna on Wheels Florida.

What generally has been the nature of your volunteer contributions and commitment to “Bettering Your Community”? I have also volunteered my time to these organizations, handing out meals during the holidays and special events. Anytime I have leftovers, I deliver them to these groups.

How has being a Rich’s associate influenced or contributed to the success of your volunteer activities? By having access to leftover samples that would otherwise be discarded, I am able to repurpose some of our goods for the less fortunate to use.

Family Fun

Proudly wearing their “Live United” T-shirts, a group of dedicated Rich’s associates – some joined by family members and friends – turned out on a recent Saturday morning in Buffalo, New York, for the eighth annual “United Way Family Volunteer Day,” a well-orchestrated logistical effort to package nutritious food supplies for needy families in the Western New York area.

Assembling at the Northwest Buffalo Community Center, the Rich’s contingent became part of a larger volunteer army totaling at least 150 strong.  All these helpers eagerly staffed various assembly lines, scooping and weighing assorted foodstuffs, filling, sealing and labeling bags of ingredients, and boxing everything up for delivery to the Food Bank of Western New York, the region’s primary hunger-relief organization.

Together, the volunteers packed an incredible 20,000 meals for their neighbors in the community.

In addition to the participation of its big-hearted volunteers, Rich’s, which has been the sole sponsor of Family Volunteer Day in its hometown since the event’s inception in 2010, underwrote the expenses of this year’s considerable food-packaging endeavor.

I Am Rich's

Name: Vilona Trachtenberg

Title: Fulfillment Planner, Customer Service & Logistics Department

Years with Rich’s: Two and a half

Location: Rich’s World Headquarters, Buffalo, New York

Favorite Rich’s product: Jon Donaire Ice Cream Sheet Cake

Why did you first decide to become a volunteer or otherwise get involved in community service? I am a dancer and take dance classes pretty regularly. One of the dance teachers I got to know would always bring up this special-needs dance studio called danceability and how much fun it is to volunteer there. I decided it was time to give back and knew that combining my passion for dance with helping others would be the best way. I was immediately hooked when I met my first dance students at danceability. I then found a few other organizations to become part of, too.

What generally has been the nature of your volunteer contributions and commitment to “Bettering Your Community”? I really believe in enriching the human experience, whether it is through education, finding cures for illnesses, or something else. There are loads of volunteer opportunities in Buffalo and many amazing, like-minded individuals at Rich’s. I have been involved with danceability; the Make-A-Wish Foundation; WNY Heroes (supporting veterans and the families of deceased veterans): TEDxYouth@Buffalo (an offshoot of the popular Ted Talks); Relay for Life (through the American Cancer Society); the Holocaust Resource Center of Buffalo; the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation; and other organizations.

Through Rich’s, I am a part of the Customer Service & Logistics Charity Team. I have helped with the Ride for Roswell (benefiting Buffalo’s Roswell Park Cancer Institute), the BassEye fundraising event for Cystic Fibrosis, food bank activities, Flag Day and Field Day at Buffalo’s historic International School 45, and last year’s National Donut Day celebration. With help from Aaron Tichenor, Bob Pokrzyk, Michael Galante and many others from Rich’s, I helped organize the company’s three-day “Olympiad” last summer to support Special Olympics of Western New York. I recently became a part of Rich’s Community Service subcommittee through our StayRich program and also am looking forward to mentoring local Boys & Girls Club youths for the STEAM competition we’re holding at Rich’s in August.

How has being a Rich’s associate influenced or contributed to the success of your volunteer activities? In Customer Service & Logistics, where I work, we are given the opportunity to be paired with mentors who meet with us, give us ideas, and help further our careers. My mentor, Bob Pokrzyk, has been extremely influential and instrumental with his advice and encouragement to keep pushing myself in my career and in community service. I can’t thank him enough for all his selflessness and guidance. All of our leaders at Rich’s have that same mindset and we’re fortunate they so enthusiastically share their abundant skill sets and experiences with us.