Clemens Food Group donates $50K to Branch County crisis pregnancy center
COLDWATER — Joe Hughes, general manager of Clemens Food Group, dropped in at Beginning Care for Life recently when Jane Ford, the director, was on vacation.
He handed an envelope to the staff at the desk, Deborah Tomlinson and Tammy Nohr, and left. Knowing it was a donation and probably something Ford would want to know about, they opened the envelope.
It was a check for $50,000. When the ladies recovered from the shock, Tomlinson called Ford.
Ford said she just dropped to her knees in thanksgiving.
More:Clemens pork processing plant now Branch County's top employer
Clemens did not have stipulations on the donation. The Beginnings board may use it at its discretion.
To be trusted with such a donation “is huge,” Ford told Hughes, when they invited him back to publicly acknowledge the gift.
Clemens Food Group is the fifth-largest pork processor in the U.S., with company headquarters in Hatfield, Pennsylvania. The company opened its Coldwater facility in 2017.
Hughes explained, “Our company certainly wants to be a good corporate citizen. That means enriching the communities in which we work and live. We try to find nonprofits that share our values and compliment our mission.”
The Clemens family is open about their faith, both with employees and the community.
“We aspire to operate in ways that honor the Lord Jesus Christ as demonstrated through ethics, integrity and stewardship,” Hughes said. “Certainly the work that you, Jane, and your team is doing, addresses all three of these attributes.”
Beginnings Care is the only crisis pregnancy center in Branch County supports families in need. They offer clients many resources through the Earning and Learning program. Parents come into the center, select parenting or life skills video classes to watch, then go over what they've learned with a peer counselor.
In so doing, they earn points to be used for diapers, new car seats, clothing, hygiene products, baby supplies and furniture and more, Ford told Hughes as she gave him a tour of the facility.
When Clemens was still new to Coldwater, the company donated $150,000 toward the building on 16 N. Clay St., to which Beginnings relocated.
When Beginnings Care hosted an open house at the new facility, CEO Doug Clemens attended, Ford said. Hughes wasn't surprised.
“He is a tremendous individual and someone I aspire to be like,” Hughes said.
For more information on the services provided by Beginnings Care for Life, visit beginningscare.com or visit Facebook.com/beginningscareforlife.com.
This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Clemens Food Group gives $50K to Beginnings Care for Life
