Making a Difference in 2023

Several years ago, Jay Keegan had an idea to allow the previous winners of the coveted “Employee of the Year” award to discuss and vote on all charitable donation requests that have been submitted to Adams Keegan by employees or by the organizations themselves. As a result, Adams Keegan’s giving has become more expansive, more intentional, more diverse, and arguably more meaningful to those doing good work in the communities that our employees care about so deeply.

Below are the recipients of charitable donations in 2023, which are partially funded by blue jean fund deductions, and a few additional organizations Adams Keegan has selected to sponsor:

• Church Health – Serves uninsured individuals and their families by reclaiming the church’s biblical commitment to care for our bodies and our spirits.
• Raising a Reader Massachusetts – An early literacy family engagement organization with a mission to close the literacy gap among children from birth to age six in under-resourced communities surrounding Boston.
• Memphis Child Advocacy Center – Works to create a community where children are safe, families are strong, and victims become children again. Serves children who are victims of sexual and/or severe physical abuse through prevention, education, and intervention.
• Arise2Read – Builds one-on-one connections with students in Shelby County to improve literacy skills, provide faith-based support, and works together to make our community a better place. Their vision is a community where every child is literate, feels valued, and can realize their God-given potential.
• Shelby Farms Park Conservancy – Manages and operates Shelby Farms Park and Shelby Farms Greenline through a private-public partnership with Shelby County Government. The SFPC is responsible for daily management, fundraising to meet operation budget needs, setting the vision for the Park’s future, and stewarding its natural resources.
• Memphis Jewish Community Center – Our donation went toward Fogelman Jewish Family Service, which provides services such as kosher meals for homebound senior citizens, creating food bags for food insecure families, and providing gifts and field trips for adults with special needs.
• East Dallas Exchange Club – Provides financial support to local Dallas ISD schools that are near the Adams Keegan Dallas office. Their primary emphasis has been giving back to underprivileged students in the area.
• SRVS – Provides family-centered services that address the unique abilities of children with special needs. Services include pediatric therapies, developmental training, an inclusive preschool, and early on parent and child classes.
• Hope House – Improves the quality of live for individuals and families affected by HIV and poverty through objectives such as providing early childhood education for children infected or affected by HIV/AIDS and assisting individuals in obtaining education and employment.
• Junior League of Memphis – Advance women’s leadership for meaningful community impact through volunteer action, collaboration, and training.
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital – Advances cures and means of prevention for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment.
• West Cancer Foundation – Breaks through barriers to cancer cure and improves patient outcomes by providing accessible patient resources, early detection and education, and community-based research.
• Peer Power – Recruits and trains high-performing college students, called Success Coaches, to tutor in public school classrooms and mentor high school students to encourage active learning, valuing education, and being personally accountable for their futures.
• Alpha Omega – Empowers displaced and homeless veterans in the Mid-South with the tools, skills, and services they need for successful reintegration into society.
• RISE Memphis – Seeks to improve the community by providing financial literacy tools and incentives to help families build assets and make better financial choices.
• Operation Stand Down – The only comprehensive Veteran-serving agency in middle Tennessee connecting Veterans with careers, community, and crisis services.
• New Ballet Ensemble – A youth development organization that brings children and youth together from diverse backgrounds – regardless of their ability to pay – to train, develop, and perform the art of dance.