SHC Employee Committee

At Simmons Hanly Conroy, we not only stand for our clients – we stand for our neighbors. In 2004, firm employees took this core belief and created a streamlined way to give back to the communities we are so proud to call home. Today, the SHC Employee Committee continues this legacy of giving back.

Separate from the philanthropic efforts of the firm, the SHC Employee Committee distributes funds generated solely by employees and attorneys through annual contributions, paycheck deductions and other employee-driven fundraising efforts. The committee consists of 12 employees, including a secretary, treasurer and director. The SHC Employee Committee is one of two charitable committees included in the overarching SHC Foundation – the other being the Meso Committee, which focuses on financially supporting mesothelioma research and awareness.

Since 2004, employees have donated more than $1 million to the nonprofits and organizations working on behalf of the most vulnerable among us. Our efforts extend to each of the cities in which our six offices are located: Los Angeles, San Francisco, St. Louis, New York, Boston, and Alton, Illinois.

For more than 16 years, the committee has organized an annual golf tournament to raise funds for area charities. To date, the tournament has raised more than $230,000 to benefit several organizations and charities, including:

• Assisi House – St. Louis, Missouri
• Neighbors in Need – Edwardsville, Illinois
• Land of Lincoln Assistance Foundation – Alton, Illinois
• Blessings in a Backpack – Alton, Illinois
• Burns Recovered, Inc. – St. Louis, Missouri
• Joshua Chamberlain Society – St. Louis, Missouri
• New Opportunities – Granite City, Illinois
• HIS Kids – Highland, Illinois
• 3 Little Birds 4 Life – Collinsville, Illinois
• Foster & Adoptive Care Coalition – St. Louis, MO
• Join Hands ESL – East Saint Louis, Illinois
• Boys & Girls Club of Alton – Alton, Illinois
• And more

The annual tournament is organized in a 4-person team scramble format, with all net proceeds from registration fees and sponsorships benefiting the selected charities. Committee members choose a different beneficiary every year.

The annual food drive is an event that collects food and monetary donations for food pantries located in the cities our six offices call home. Started in 2005, the event takes place from October through November so pantries will be well-stocked for the holiday season. From 2005 to 2018, five Alton-area food pantries received an average 5,000-pound donation shortly before Thanksgiving. The delivery was the second-largest, single donation many of the pantries received, behind only the Boy Scouts Food Drive. Starting in 2019, the committee now donates $2,500 to each pantry in lieu of food so they can fill their shelves based on their specific food needs.

To encourage employee participation, the committee organizes a series of internal raffles and firmwide activities to help raise the needed funds, including casual Fridays that encourage everyone to represent their favorite sports team, and a Halloween costume contest.

Beneficiaries include:

• Crisis Food Center – Alton, Illinois
• The Salvation Army – Alton, Illinois
• Community Hope Center – Cottage Hills, Illinois
• Collinsville Area Ministerial Association’s Helping Hands Food Pantry – Collinsville, Illinois
• Community Care Center – Granite City, Illinois
• Great Chicago Food Depository – Chicago, Illinois
• Ocean Park Community Center – Los Angeles, California
• Marin Food Bank – San Francisco, California
• And more

Every holiday season, committee members participate in the Adopt-A-Family program, which grants the holiday wishes of children and families in need throughout Madison County, Illinois.

Local shelters, long-term care facilities and schools supply committee members with dozens of holiday wish lists, which include clothing, food and toys. Committee members then “adopt” families and individuals by using employee donations to purchase items from their lists. The items are then wrapped, ensuring they all have gifts to open during the holidays.

Firm employees strongly believe that everyone should have a reason to look forward to the holiday season and are committed to making that a reality for as many people as possible. Items purchased have included bikes, laptops, clothing, art sets, basketball hoops and more.

Through the SHC Employee Committee, Simmons Hanly Conroy employees have made it their mission to support the children, families and organizations that make up the communities they call home. The same commitment shown to firm clients every day is mirrored in the commitment employees have for their neighbors in need. Through the SHC Employee Committee donation request program, organizations and nonprofits can apply to receive monetary funds to help those they serve.

The SHC Foundation is an Illinois not-for-profit corporation that has received federal tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service as a Section 501(c)(3) charitable support organization.

The SHC Employee Committee does not provide monetary assistance to political organizations or religious organizations that request funds for religious purposes. Additionally, family members of Simmons Hanly Conroy employees cannot be provided funds from this committee.