JAB Produce’s ‘Rory Day’ continues to help foundation grow

For the third year in a row, Steve Serck has designated a percentage of the receipts from one of his company’s most profitable days to The Rory David Deutsch Foundation. JAB Produce sells fresh produce to grocers throughout the Chicago area. The weekend before July 4th is one of its busiest, and coincidentally, this is when the company holds its annual “Rory Day.” On this day five percent of all sales are donated to The Foundation.

“This past July 4th fell on a Tuesday, so we scheduled ‘Rory Day’ the Friday before because we knew that’s when our biggest orders would come through,” explained Steve, who also is a member of The Foundation’s Board of Directors. At JAB, big orders typically symbolize orders by the truckload. This year, those orders added up to a generous contribution of $6,000 to The Foundation.

In addition to raising funds on its “Rory Day,” Steve also promotes awareness for The Foundation. “We’re located in the Chicago International Produce Market, and everyone who comes into the store and all the companies around us are aware of our event and The Foundation,” said Steve. “We have Rory banners and posters up, and our employees not only make individual contributions to The Foundation on that day, they canvas the neighborhood for additional donations.”

For Steve, who has known the Deutsch family for many years, sharing the story of Rory and The Foundation is a year-round effort. “There’s so much that can be learned from Rory’s life and The Foundation’s work,” he said. “Even by listening to the stories Ross tells of little kids ringing his doorbell with a donation of money they raised through a lemonade stand or their allowance or something else, you can tell how it can help instill in children the importance of charity. At the same time, on a much larger scale, The Foundation makes an incredible contribution to cancer research. In so many ways, The Rory David Deutsch Foundation has become such a vital part of our community.”