Tom’s of Maine celebrates annual Goodness Day

Posted on Jul 14, 2011

Posted by Bridget, Citizen's Advocacy Representative

Here at Tom's of Maine we take our company Reason for Being very seriously. That means that as committed as we are to providing the best in natural toothpaste, natural deodorant, and other natural personal care products, we are also constantly striving to meet our mission of responsibility and goodness.

The Tom's of Maine Annual Goodness Day is one day out of the year that we all leave our usual work routine and come together to volunteer. With our company growth, it can be difficult to find one location that can use all of our help. Luckily, the fifteen acres at Kittery's Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge had more than enough room for us this past Tuesday, putting over 100 Tom's of Maine employees to work!

Our primary responsibility at the refuge was to pull the invasive Glossy Buckthorn. Clearing the area of this plant aided the effort of creating a safe habitat for the New England Cottontail, a species currently watched by the federal government, and already endangered here in Maine. The uncommon heat of a 95 degree day had some of us longing for our climate controlled offices. But a high level of enthusiasm – and plenty of water – powered us through the task at hand.

At one point during the day, I stood from pulling roots to find that I had worked my way over to a slightly elevated area of land from which I could see every one of our volunteers hard at work. The analogy to the day-to-day of our company operations was hard to miss. While everyone worked individually, or in small groups, we were able to achieve our common goal, clearing a good portion of land of the invasive species.

Volunteering for community causes has always been a part of the way Tom's of Maine works. In our over 40 years of business, we've learned that the people who buy our products share this same value, and give back to their own communities by donating their time and money to do good. Sometimes the challenges we face can seem daunting. But when I think about the collective power of all these individuals working for good, I'm convinced that there is nothing we can't accomplish. And besides, if you start by pulling just one single weed, you're already ahead of where you were yesterday!