Integrated Project Mercy
Giving back is a core principle of Our Mission & Beliefs, the ideals we live by every day. Through Integrated Project Mercy, our employees dedicate their time and talents to their communities while strengthening their relationships with each other.
One of IPM’s seven offices selects a different charity for the company to support every quarter, generally focusing on children, education, or the underprivileged. Through these efforts, IPM employees have raised thousands of dollars while contributing hundreds of hours to help those in need.
Young adults who have mentors are less likely to skip school and more likely to hold leadership positions later in life. Children who experience mentoring, especially those living below the poverty line, are introduced to opportunities they might not have learned about. So, IPM selected Junior Achievement for the most recent Project Mercy effort.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, 103 million people are currently forcibly displaced around the world. These people are forced to leave their homelands for various reasons, including war, ethnic or political violence, and religious or political persecution. When refugees are able to relocate, they often face new challenges, such as losing all their possessions and their close-knit communities for support. That’s why IPM chose to support resettling refugees for its most recent Integrated Project Mercy activities.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, 55 million Americans worked in essential industries during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. While public health and economic outlooks were uncertain, people serving in these roles continued to show up for their communities. Their commitment to others inspired IPM to select “Supporting Everyday Heroes” as the theme for the second-quarter Integrated Project Mercy activities.
More than 10 percent of American households experience food insecurity each year. That’s why IPM chose to adopt “From Farms to Food Banks” as the theme for the first-quarter Integrated Project Mercy activities.
“This theme meant bolstering the production of crops reaching people with food insecurity in our communities,” explains John Gracia, a director in IPM’s Boston office and the Q1 Project Mercy lead. “The sweat equity of our spring labor is now providing fresh produce throughout the growing season to those in need.”
It is estimated that more than 500,000 people experience homelessness across America each night, and this figure has only grown in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. IPM chose to support those experiencing homelessness during the 2021 holiday season for the fourth-quarter Integrated Project Mercy activities.
“The holidays tend be the hardest on those who already have less,” explained fourth-quarter Project Mercy lead Tim Ehr, a director in the Minneapolis office. “We’re trying to close that gap by giving some of these folks a feeling of normalcy. We can’t fix the situation, but we can decrease the gap when it’s felt most.”
Through its quarterly projects, Integrated Project Management Company’s (IPM) philanthropic arm, Integrated Project Mercy, often assists organizations focused on helping children. For the third-quarter effort, the company supported the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), a nonprofit that has helped several of IPM’s family members.
The pandemic and its resulting job loss, childcare disruptions, social isolation, and other impacts have taken a toll on Americans’ mental health. So Integrated Project Management (IPM) directed its Integrated Project Mercy activities toward mental health awareness.