In 2014, Dio
n’s was recognized as the Restaurant Neighbor of the Year by the New Mexico Restaurant Association (NMRA). Since then, Dion’s has kept community support a high priority, and in FY17 donated almost $219,000 in the form of money, gift cards and food. Mark Herman, CEO of Dion’s, stated, “As our company grows and thrives we are committed to positively impacting our communities and providing support to help them flourish.”
To make a significant impact, Dion’s charitable efforts focus solely on two areas – youth development and hunger. Youth development is a focus, because the primary employee base at Dion’s is under the age of 18, and leadership at the company believes in bettering their lives before and during their employment. Recipients this past year include MESA, Golden Apple, New Day Youth and Family Services, Galloping Grace Youth Ranch, and Horizons. When it comes to supporting those affected by hunger, Dion’s has recently supported The Food Depot, Project Angel Heart, and Meals on Wheels.
Furthermore, Dion’s has collaborated with the Albuquerque Isotopes to lead Club Read. For the past 11 years, the program has incentivized elementary-aged children to read books for prizes. The hope is that the participants will find themselves on a life-long journey committed to reading and learning. During the last season, more than 25,000 books were read as part of the program.
While Dion’ is fortunate to be able to provide monetary and food donations, they have also recently begun to give time to non-profit organizations. Employees now volunteer to participate in activities like picking vegetables, distributing food at shelters, and cleaning campuses of homeless shelters. Nicole Marquez, Community Relations Coordinator at Dion’s stated “Our volunteer program has rounded out our philanthropic efforts nicely. Our employees like to give back and this has given them an opportunity to see the programs we work with face-to-face.”
Deena Crawley, Marketing Director at Dion’s, stated “We are immensely grateful to the customers that have supported us for the past 39 years and we’re proud to be able to give back to the community that has given us so much.” You can learn more about Dion’s community support efforts at http://www.dions.com/community/community-support/.
