Celebrating 25 Years of Giving in Indiana
This is Pepper Construction
At six-weeks old, Zoe, the daughter of Carly and Seth Anderson, was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a life-threatening liver disease with no cure. This diagnosis is rare, affecting 1 in 18,000 infants at birth. But fortunately, Seth, a superintendent for Pepper Construction (Pepper), in Indianapolis, wasn’t alone in dealing with the crisis thanks to the company’s deep roots in outreach and community service.
Pepper, a family-owned company, is headquartered in Chicago and consists of four subsidiaries throughout the Midwest. Employees at the Indiana office went into action to assist the Andersons with medical expenses. Two weeks after her initial diagnosis, Zoe received life-saving surgery to prevent liver damage. She also needed a liver transplant, a surgery that costs $500,000, as well as after-surgery expenses related to care and treatment.
Pepper Steps In
For 25 years, the talented team at Pepper has built lasting partnerships, especially in the health care market, starting with its first local project in 1989: a $100 million master facility project for St. Vincent Indianapolis Hospital. In 1993, the company was incorporated in Indiana. It spent the next two decades growing strong relationships with clients and, ultimately, building a reputation for innovative higher education, manufacturing, industrial, retail and hospitality projects.
Along the way, Pepper cultivated care for its community and aligned its values of service, integrity, safety and leadership with outreach programs that made an immediate and lasting impact. So, when the senior leadership and employees at Pepper heard about Zoe’s condition and Seth and Carly’s financial need, they took immediate action. They partnered with the Children’s Organ Transplant Association (COTA), a nonprofit that provides family support and helps fund life-saving organ transplants for children and young adults. Working with COTA, volunteers from Pepper organized the Gift for Zoe Golf Outing on June 7, 2018, at the Twin Lakes Golf Club, to offset some of the expenses of the transplant.
“When Seth realized Zoe would need a transplant, he reached out to COTA,” Pepper Group Leader Charles Smith says. “You’ve never met anyone as unwilling to ask for help. The client of a project Seth was working on and a number of people at Pepper said they’d like to do something, and all of a sudden there was this groundswell of support. A golf outing is probably one of the more common charitable events, especially in construction, so that’s what we did.”
“We put out the first call for sponsors and we sold out our first round of foursomes in a day,” says Director of Marketing Katie Wilkins. “And we realized pretty quickly that we needed to do a second flight. And those were sold out quickly thereafter.”
Pepper brought together trade partners, architects, suppliers, vendors and other general contractors for an event where 100 percent of the funds raised would go to benefit the family. More than 45 Pepper volunteers gave their time, many spending from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at an event that included two different shotgun starts to allow more people to donate and participate.
“The response was so overwhelming,” Katie says. “The biggest challenge was figuring out how to accommodate that massive group. COTA and the golf course said they had never seen a volunteer effort like that from any of the outings they had ever done. We’re a relationship firm. It really is how we operate.”
“It’s the only time we’ve ever done a huge event like this,” says Wendy Curry, Project Controller for Pepper and event organizer. “It was a big challenge, including all the events of the day, COTA and registration, donations and raffle prizes. People didn’t want to leave. The volunteers we had in the morning wanted to stay the whole day because it was a really fun event and they appreciated helping out. That speaks to the event itself.”
Seventy-two companies helped sponsor the event and there were 45 foursomes. Zoe was present for the beautiful day at Twin Lakes Golf Club. Carly and Seth witnessed the true heart of Pepper, a company that treats its employees and community like family.
A Celebration
“When we started talking about this, Zoe had not had her transplant,” Charles says. “We started planning in January or February and we were fortunate she was able to have her transplant before the tournament. So, the event was almost more of a celebration, which was great. And probably the most touching thing I saw was when they lined up all the carts at the golf outing and gave everyone instructions. Then they let everyone go to their hole and all the carts charged off. Well, Zoe was there, held by her mom, and she was waving at the carts as they went by. It was incredible. You couldn’t ask for a better cause. You weren’t waving at someone who needed a transplant. You were waving at someone who had had a successful transplant. It was really a nice twist.”
In all, with the organizational help of COTA, Pepper employees, friends, organizations and contractors raised funds to assist with medical bills associated with Zoe’s liver transplant. Today, Zoe is still on a journey to recovery, and Carly and Seth know that she is cared for by a company and a community magnified by its compassion and service.
This Is Pepper
Zoe’s cause was not a one-time effort for Pepper. Year after year, Pepper has built a culture of servant leadership by giving back to its community. Some of the causes have included fundraising efforts for the Susan G. Komen organization and hosting TeenWorks, a high school outreach and empowerment program created to inspire future generations, an annual United Way campaign, and partnering with Rebuilding Together to revitalize and improve local houses and communities.
To commemorate Pepper Indiana’s 25th year, senior leadership at Pepper organized a month-to-month community calendar of volunteer opportunities to encourage employees to get involved in the community. These events are opportunities for Pepper employees to step up and get involved and take on a project they are passionate about. “Our people rally behind and enjoy the community piece of our 25th celebration,” Katie says. “As a company, we want to maintain this momentum and continue increasing our level of involvement with local community organizations.”
“Indianapolis and the surrounding communities have given us so much opportunity, and it’s our company’s way to give back,” Pepper Communications Specialist Kelly Dickey adds.
Some of the employee-led projects include assisting the Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation, volunteering at the Humane Society of Indianapolis, building picnic tables and planter beds for Indianapolis Public Schools, and collecting gently used clothing for The Julian Center, an organization that supports victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and other life crises. The scope of these efforts reveals that the heart of this company is found in its people and extends to its community. Pepper is one of a kind, and its initiatives are changing perspectives and lives, like Zoe Anderson’s, in communities in Indiana and around the nation.
“This is not just happening at Pepper Indiana,” Charlie says. “The same type of outreach and community service is happening at Pepper in Ohio and Chicago. It’s just the culture of the company. This is Pepper.”