Giving Back to Our Community
Craters and Freighters as a company is known to:
- give back to the community,
- provide sustainability and eco-friendly support, and
- streamline services to benefit the customer and the carbon blueprint.
Taking a cue from these company-wide programs, the Nashville & Birmingham franchises created The Esther Fund in 2019. The Esther Fund is an outreach program designed to positively influence the community.
The Esther Fund
The name for the fund comes from The Book of Esther in the Bible, verse 4:14. This verse inspired the franchise owner, Russ Connelly, to make a significant change in his personal life and strengthened his sense of integrating community service and giving back into the company. One of the main ingredients of the mission statement and purpose of Craters & Freighters is to be a “shining light” in our community. We do not want our company to be only about generating an income or to make profits. We want to have a more meaningful purpose as well. We are a company that is made up of like-minded individuals who want to help others. In that respect, we have created an outreach program where we donate a portion of our sales to others. The program is called The Esther Fund. The name Esther means “star” so in that respect we intend to be a “shining light” in our community.
It’s a Team Effort
Each month these two franchises hold back 1% of their monthly sales revenue as “Esther Funds”. The money is then distributed by the team member who has been designated as the “Esther Donor” for that month. The “Esther Donor” role rotates monthly throughout the team, and the designated staff member selects a non-profit or 501c(3) organization to support. Doing this provides an opportunity for relationship-building between donor and recipient. It also enhances the gift of giving and personally involving the people who make up the Nashville & Birmingham teams. At Craters & Freighters, we encourage our staff to do more than just earn a paycheck; we hope to encourage generosity and inspire a gift-giving nature that emphasizes both the strengthening of our community and giving back to it. Through this journey, our teams have learned that to give is genuinely better than to receive. The letter below is what is included with each check personalized with the employee’s name inserted that chose the recipient organization. This is what the Esther Fund is all about.
To Whom It May Concern: On behalf of <Esther Donor Team Member Name>, Craters & Freighters would like to make a donation to your organization from our company’s Esther Fund. The following letter will serve as a summarization of Craters & Freighters’ outreach program named the Esther Fund. One of the main ingredients of the mission statement and purpose of Craters & Freighters is to be a “shining light” in our community. We do not want our company to be only about generating an income or to make profits. We want to have a more meaningful purpose as well. We are a company that is made up of like-minded individuals who want to help others. In that respect, we have created an outreach program where we donate a portion of our sales to others. The program is called the Esther Fund. The name Esther means “star” so in that respect we intend to be a “shining light” in our community. In our own way we want to be a positive force with our neighbors. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about Craters & Freighters Esther Fund. I hope that in some way our company has shared its mission of hope and light. Thank you! Sincerely, Russ Connelly Craters & Freighters
Giving Back to Various Non-Profit Organizations
Since 2019, as of April 2021, the Nashville team has donated $212,304.90, and the Birmingham team $46,863.60.
- 2019: Nashville donated $34,191.26 and Birmingham donated $15,806.64
- 2020: Nashville donated $37,677.47 and Birmingham donated $28,598.59
Video Testimonials from the Community
- Rusty Colvin, Manager of Facilities at Wright Medical Group based in Memphis, Tennessee
- Tevin Peterson, Discipleship Director at Men of Valor Nashville Prison Ministry & Mentoring
Non-Profits We Have Supported Include
| A Soldier’s Child | Alive Hospice | American Heart Association – Hoops For Heart |
| Assist The Officer Foundation | Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Middle TN | Big Fluffy Dog Rescue |
| Bikers Against Child Abuse Tennessee | Boys & Girls Clubs of West Alabama | Challenged Athletes Playing Equally |
| CityScape | Clear Creek Community Church | Club Knockout FOP Boxing Gym |
| College Hills Church of Christ | Convoy of Hope | Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation – Tennessee |
| End Slavery Tennessee | Feed America First | Ferrell Hollow Farm |
| Gilda’s Club of Middle Tennessee | Gildas Club Middle Tennessee | Gilgal Baptist Church |
| Good Shepherd Childrens Home | Grace United Methodist Church | Greenhouse Ministries |
| Habitat For Humanity | Habitat For Paws | Hartsville Church of God of Prophecy |
| Healing Hands International | Hope Clinic for Women | Hope Park Church – Benevolence |
| HPFFACF | Iglesia Bautista Hispana de Lebanon | Iglesia Cristiana Una Esperanza Viva |
| Iglesia El Gran Yo Soy | Iglesia Evangelica Casa de Oracion | Iglesia Mishkan Lugar de Adoracion |
| Iglesia Mishkan Lugar de Adoracion / Juvenile Ministry | Impact Youth Outreach, Inc | Inter Soccer Club |
| Josue Yrion World Evangelism & Missions, Inc | MCM Amo ato Projimo | Men of Valor |
| Monroe Carrell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt | Monroe Harding | Nashville Humane Association |
| Nashville Predators Foundation | Nashville Rescue Mission | New Beginnings International |
| Nikki Mitchell Foundation | Officer Down Memorial Page | Operation Smile |
| Operation Stand Down | Operation Troop Aid | Pencil Foundation |
| Potomac Center, Inc | Preston Taylor Ministries | Project HOOD |
| Raise the Roof,Inc | Renewed Life Outreach Ministries | Retrieving Independence Inc |
| Ridgecrest Baptist Church | Rio de Dios | Room In The Inn |
| Salvation Army | Special Kids, Inc | St. Frances Cabrini Church |
| St. Jude | St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital | St. Thomas Health Foundation |
| St. Frances Cabrini Church | Tabernaculo La Roca | Tennessee College of Applied Technology |
| Tennessee Voices For Children | The 98 Fund | The Experience Community Church |
| The King Foundation | The Nashville Food Project | Un Llamado Una Mision Ministry |
| Una Esperanza Viva | United Cerebral Palsy of West Alabama, Inc | Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital |
| Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center | Walden’s Puddle | Wounded Warrior Project |