Zoës Kitchen, a fast-casual Mediterranean restaurant group, announced the launch of The Goodness Fund, a charitable program that provides monetary grants to Zoës Kitchen team members experiencing unforeseen emergencies that they are not financially prepared to deal with, such as serious illness, natural disaster, and other grave challenges.
“As a people-first company, we strive to put ourselves in our team members’ shoes, listen to their needs, and add value to their lives,” said Kevin Miles, CEO and president of Zoës Kitchen. “The purpose of The Goodness Fund is to support our company’s commitment to a people-first culture, while giving our team members an opportunity to experience delivering goodness first-hand during times that they need it the most.”
The Goodness Fund has been established as a non-profit organization and is funded through the generosity of Zoës Kitchen team members. The company provided an initial monetary contribution to launch the program, and going forward, employee donations can be set up through an ongoing payroll deduction or via donations through the point-of-sale system in restaurant. Donations are voluntary and all current team members of Zoës Kitchen, whether they have monetarily supported The Goodness Fund or not, are eligible to apply for and to potentially receive a grant.
Miles adds, “The Goodness Fund is a prime example of our core values in action and how shoulder to shoulder we serve to make each other better and to ensure we continue to foster a workplace where all of our team members feel safe, secure, inspired and motivated to strive for greatness.”