Amerikam believes philanthropy to be a key tenet of our corporate leadership. As we celebrate our 85 years in business, we again renew that commitment through the great talent and generosity of our team members. Below are a few examples of the activities we support with passion and loyalty. 

AMERIKAM Ferris State University Manufacturing Engineering Project
AMERIKAM engineers and staff provide a real business case to Engineering students.  This course work is necessary to fulfill degree requirements, and through AMERIKAM’s curriculum development and hands-on work with the students, this has become the model of business and industry and academia partnerships to prepare a job-ready workforce in Michigan.  This year we added a module for lean manufacturing students, in addition to engineering students, as part of our continuous improvement program.

Girls Choral Academy

Founded in 1997, the Girls Choral Academy enriches the lives of West Michigan girls through a program for those who love to sing and wish to grow musically, personally, in self-esteem, and in leadership skills. 

Girls Choral Academy performs three major concerts each year involving girls in nine choirs. These girls are from all over West Michigan and from a wide variety of ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. They attend public, private, charter, parochial schools, and some are home-schooled, but they are all united by their excitement about singing, about choir, and about being a girl. The organization is firmly committed to diversity in membership and repertoire.

Three of the choirs are located in southwest, urban Grand Rapids near Grandville Avenue. These choirs operate in cooperation with the Grand Rapids Public Schools (GRPS), including Southwest Community Campus School, Buchanan Elementary, and Chavez Elementary.

Grand Rapids Symphony Educational Programming

Amerikam sponsors a concert series for children sharing music education, reaching more than 73,000 students.  We also see this contribution as part of economic development to attract and retain an experienced and knowledgeable workforce to the West Michigan area through an enriching arts program.

Habitat for Humanity

Amerikam team members help build homes for veterans and donate products manufactured at Amerikam. 

Here is a link to the 2012 event video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXIoU5Imt8A

 

 

Junior Achievement

Amerikam works with the local school district to sponsor the high school students in the Junior Achievement Titan Business Challenge, a business strategy tournament.  Each high school student team acts as the senior management team of their company and is responsible for developing business strategies and making critical decisions.

Talent 2025 CEO Initiative

Serving on the executive Board of Directors, this organization formed to illuminate and advocate for improved education, training and services that will result in a strong workforce of the future. This program was recently designated by Governor Snyder as the focal point of efforts to improve Michigan.

Wounded Warrior Project

Amerikam continues to designate philanthropic dollars and customer- and community-generated support for our wounded military warriors. The Warriors to Work program gives injured veterans opportunities to create bright futures by returning to school and transitioning to the civilian workforce.  We also engage with the rehabilitative recreational programs for wounded warriors to regain their physical strength and confidence.  One such program we directly support takes wounded warriors fly fishing in Northern Michigan with the help and support of the medical counselors and family member.

Medical Device Integrity Initiative at Xavier University

Amerikam serves with world-class thought leaders in the medical device field industries to improve and impact supplier integrity, increase safety, and improve reliability.

FIRST Robotics Competition

FIRST Robotics Competition is an international high school robotics competition. Each year, teams of high school students and mentors work during a six-week period to build game-playing robots. Amerikam engineers have helped support this educational opportunity by acting as judges at the annual competition.

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foudnation (JDRF)

Amerikam has a long tradition of sponsoring and donating for diabetes research through JDRF, having raised over 1 million dollars through the years.  JDRF is a leader in setting the agenda for diabetes research worldwide and is the largest charitable funder and advocate of type 1 research.

United Way Campaign

Amerikam has raised over $127,000 for United Way in the past 10 years

Jason Kinzler Family First Foundation Annual Dinner

The Jason Kinzler Family First Foundation provides financial assistance to families with minor children who have experienced the unexpected loss of a primary care-giver. Amerikam is proud sponsor of their annual dinner held each June.