Every year, the entire team at Next Level Performance works together on HOPE Week. HOPE was an initiative originally started by the NY Yankees who challenged businesses to commit to Helping Others Persevere and Excel. We took up the challenge and HOPE Week has become a central part of our company culture that we all look forward to every year. This week of community service exemplifies our commitment to our own workplace, our neighbors, and our clients. We are dedicated to helping others achieve more in everything they do. Next Level Performance is a great place to work and we’re proud to contribute to the following efforts this year:

Community Food Bank

This amazing organization provides 47 million meals a year to nearly 900,000 New Jerseyans who are food insecure. As part of our years-long contribution to ending hunger in our own backyard, this year members of our team volunteered to work in the Community Food Bank warehouse, sorting food for distribution. We also provided financial support for the organization and are collecting coins and spare change throughout the month of August, with a goal of providing 1,500 meals.

HomeFront  

HomeFront works to “break the cycle of poverty” by providing services from helping the homeless transition into housing to offering job training. This year, small groups of Next Level teammates are shopping for Back-to-School packs for at-risk kids. HomeFront provides the details of specific children and their needs for clothing and school supplies. We are so glad to send these kids back to the classroom with everything they need. Another team is organizing Welcome Home Kits for homeless families entering new housing. Providing everything from pots and pans to cleaning supplies will get them off to a good start in their new homes.

And this year, we are excited to have our own Next Level Kids here to help! Children of our colleague’s joined us this week to decorate the boxes for Welcome Home Kits and to provide encouraging notes of good wishes for each new home. It’s great to have the kids in the office!

Elijah’s Promise

Located just down the street from us in New Brunswick is Elijah’s Promise, which operates from one central idea: Food changes lives. From feeding the hungry at the soup kitchen to providing job training for those interested in working in the hospitality or food and beverage industries, Elijah’s Promise’s team makes a difference in the lives of hundreds of people in our own neighborhood every day. In partnership with our building management at Matrix, we are running our annual food drive, providing the ingredients needed by Elijah’s Promise’s chefs, as well as hygiene items needed by their clients.

There are many things about our company that make me glad to work at Next Level Performance. I’m proud of the work that we do, but it’s our community that really connects me to the company. Each year, I’m reminded of that as we pull together for HOPE Week to help others who do not have all of the advantages we do. And each day, I’m reminded again as colleagues reach out to help each other personally and professionally.