Walking through walls with Masonite
It’s part mission statement, part marketing slogan: “We help people walk through walls.”
Based on the company’s purpose: “We Help People Walk Through Walls,” Masonite’s community grant program has awarded more than $115,000 to 36 community organizations during its first year.
At the center of the program, and one of its most prominent champions, is Clare Doyle, the Tampa, Fla.-based door manufacturer’s chief sustainability officer. In an interview with HBSDealer, Doyle shared her view of the power of hyper-local corporate giving that’s informed by employees throughout the corporation.
“Everybody knows The United Way, right?,” Doyle said. “Everybody knows the Red Cross, but not everybody knows of a woman in Haleyville, Ala., who puts together backpacks with food for kids to take home on the weekends. And that's an example of one of the organizations that we're supporting.”
In the last quarter, Masonite granted over $23,000 to organizations that you might not know, but that are important to those touched by their work. Among them:
• Friends of the Children—Tampa Bay; which commits to long-term mentorship to children at risk of falling behind,
• American’s Grow a Row, whose mission is to provide healthy produce to people in need, and
• The Specialty Fit Foundation, providing Special Olympic training and other coaching for those with developmental disabilities.
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As part of its community grant program, Masonite supports Booker T. Washington Elementary School, not far from corporate headquarters in Tampa. Volunteers have supported the school with back-to-school supplies and campus beautification efforts. -
Masonite employees volunteering at the Metropolitan Ministries Holiday Tent. Metropolitan Ministries offers comprehensive services for at-risk and homeless families in underserved and impoverished communities. -
Masonite supported Mid State Technical College’s Advanced Manufacturing, Engineering, Technology and Apprenticeship (AMETA) Center with a monetary grant and door donation.
The culture of giving permeates the company, she says, and it is centered on the idea of “helping people walk through walls.” Employees get involved in the process, nominating organizations that are worthy for donations, and in many cases, watching the local results unfold.
“It's not just a program where Masonite writes a check and it goes into a hole,” Doyle said. “Our team can see the impact, they can feel the impact, and they can be part of it.”
She added: “Oftentimes, the small actions in the local community, they stay there. And the purpose is really more powerful when people understand exactly what you're doing and how you're doing it.”
Doyle has been Masonite’s chief sustainability officer for one year. Coming from the chemical industry, she joined Masonite six years ago to run its components business—that’s the molded skins and the cut stock that eventually becomes the residential and architectural products. She was put in charge of the company’s European business in 2018, and came back to take on her current role last year.
“Everything I've done in my career has led to this role,” she said. “There's no one path to sustainability. I don't have a degree in public policy, but what I've done is learned how to build support and create businesses. You do that by listening and identifying your stakeholders and understanding what's important and what to push forward.”
And embedded in the mission of sustainability, she said, is the concept of diversity, equity and inclusion. “You can’t really talk about sustainability without talking about DEI,” she said. “ The two are separate and different, but they're very much linked together.”
She described Masonite’s effort towards diversity as carefully measured and encouraged across the board. “It’s not just gender,” she said. “And it’s not just: ‘Oh, here’s a resume.’ We look at all the elements. We’re looking to find those highly qualified candidates that we might otherwise miss.”
The ideas of sustainability and diversity have a way of enriching not only the community, but the corporation that embraces the ideas, she said. “Purpose-driven organizations have better employee retention, better financial returns,” she said. “It's this idea of if you do well, you can do good, and by doing good, you do well, and that’s the virtuous circle.”
