Kellogg Continues Commitment to Military Vets

By CnAgri2012-08-10 19:51:45 Print

Last year, a Marine Reservist from Battle Creek, Mich., was deployed to Afghanistan, leaving his wife, family and job behind. After his assignment, he returned home safely to a new baby and Kellogg Company teammates eagerly awaiting his arrival.

Because of support provided by the company and his coworkers before, during and after his duty, the employee nominated Kellogg Company to receive a Patriot Award, which recognizes organizations providing extraordinary support and cooperation to citizens who serve. The honor was bestowed by the Employer Support of Guard and Reserve (ESGR), an agency of the Department of Defense.

"That one of our own employees took the time to nominate our company to receive the Patriot Award is truly humbling," said Brad Davidson, president of Kellogg North America "Nearly 800 current Kellogg employees in the United States have served in the Armed Forces. We are so privileged that they are part of the Kellogg family, and we appreciate the valuable skills and experiences they bring to the business."

With so many Kellogg employees having military service, along with numerous employees who are family members and supporters of loved ones in the military, Kellogg Company was inspired to develop KVets & Supporters, a new Employee Resource Group (ERG). ERGs are voluntary affinity groups that allow employees to connect on common dimensions of diversity. KVets & Supporters seeks to engage employees with service experience, assist with our veteran recruiting efforts, improve the onboarding of new employees who are veterans and help strengthen our position as a company of choice for veterans and their supporters.

"It's a way to honor and thank those who serve, have served or made sacrifices while their friends, colleagues and family served," said Mark King, Kellogg's Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer. "Supporting our veterans also allows Kellogg to strengthen our ability to recruit and engage these talented individuals who have unique skills, experiences and challenges when returning to civilian life."

The formation of KVets & Supporters aligns well with the company's values and history of supporting veteran and military causes. Kellogg and Kellogg's Corporate Citizenship Fund, the charitable arm of Kellogg, also support a variety of military initiatives, including Wounded Warrior Project, National Military Family Association and the Defense Commissary Agency Scholarship Fund.

"As a company, we go beyond what is required by doing what is right for those who serve on our behalf," said Davidson, who also serves as executive sponsor of KVets & Supporters. "We look forward to the influence our new ERG will have in engaging our employees in the unique perspective of being a veteran."

KVets & Supporters is the seventh ERG to form at Kellogg. More than 2,600 employees currently belong to one of the groups, which are: Kellogg African American Resource Group, Kellogg Multinational Resource Group, K-Pride and Allies, Latino Employee Resource Group, Women of Kellogg and Young Professionals.