Fort Knox Self Storage Triumphs Community Engagement Award of Excellence

Fort Knox Self Storage is a family owned and operated business. Our 10-core company values were established with collaboration of our entire extended family, our team of professional storage experts. These values define our business and how we embrace family spirit. The senior management team is tremendously proud, not only of the culture we developed here but for the passion, commitment and support our team dedicate to community engagement and we are absolutely delighted to have been awarded the 2018 Self Storage Association of Australasia award for Community Engagement.

Below the Management Team proudly accepting the award from Michael Lay Steel Storage.

Here at Fort Knox we also appreciate that being is business is more than just profits. We believe we have a moral obligation to engage in our local communities and to support those individuals who support our business. There is an old saying; “It takes a village to raise a child” and we endeavour to support our local villages in raising their children just as we nurture our own.

For many businesses supporting a charity organisation, local sports club or school comes in the form of a monetary donation. However here at Fort Knox we believe that personal experience and participation often has a far greater and meaningful outcome than a mere donation. And while we financially support many of our partnered charities what we are most gratified by is the participation of our team members in donating their time and effort in support of our local community groups.

Our team of storage experts, from casual team members through to the senior management team, continue to challenge themselves, stepping out of their comfort zones to bake goods, sleep out, run, walk, volunteer their time, personally fund-raise and involve their own families & friends to support our local communities. This year our team has excelled in its commitment to helping others and thus our decision to enter the award this year was a given. Below is a snap shot of some of the fabulous and caring voluntary efforts our team have been part of.

Hand assembling Prosthetic hands for victims of land mine amputees

Each year we host a mid-year celebration event for our wider team to come together, usually by hosting a trivia night, tenpin bowling or a dinner. This year our team of site managers agreed incorporate a charitable activity that everyone could attend. Choosing an organisation and activity that would suit everyone isn’t easy however, once we saw the video of what Helping Hands achieves the decision was easy. Seeing the sheer delight on the recipient’s faces was something that touched all our hearts, and so our journey began.

On Thursday May 17th, 2018, 33 of our storage experts gathered together to create something magical. We personally hand built 10 prosthetic hands for victims of landmine amputees throughout developing countries. The atmosphere was electric as our team struggled putting together the intricate pieces with their own personal dominate hand disabled. Working with one hand was categorically challenging but gave our team a slight insight into the struggles amputees face doing the simplest of tasks every day. While Fort Knox paid for the prosthetic limbs, equipment and facilitator our team provided the enthusiasm and did the hard work. Each person embraced the opportunity to spare a few hours of their time to individually hand build something that will be life changing and will offer long term improvements to the quality of a person’s life whom ordinarily couldn’t afford it.

See video link to from previous recipients receiving their new hand/s. Helping Hands distribution video
For more information on beyond the boardroom helping hands activity; http://helpinghandsprogram.com.au/

“Wonder Women” Royal Children’s Hospital Appeal:

Winner of the Diversity@work awards for work life balance we foster and encourage our team to enjoy work life balance while promoting healthy habits and lifestyle. And while as a company we invest in workplace activities to ensure we stay focused on our commitment, it delights us to see our team continue these initiatives together out of the workplace. For the past couple of years our “Wonder Women” have exchanged their uniforms for their adorned superhero t-shirts. On Sunday 18th March our “Wonder Women” joined more than 23,000 other runners, joggers and walkers alongside patients of the Royal Children’s Hospital.

And while many of our “Wonder Women” are battling their own serious illnesses they stepped out in the cold wild weather braving the elements that Melbourne is renowned for to support the children of our community once again. With big hearts and generous donations this year’s ‘Run for the kids’ raised an amazing 1.4 million dollars for the iconic hospital.

Sleeping out for the Homeless

Fort Knox has supported the SleepAtTheG event from its fruition and has provided ongoing support for the past 6 years.

• To date we have donated over 9000 Fort Knox big boxes (tea chest cartons) which are used as beds for all sleepers.
• 35 of our storage experts have braved the cold by sleeping on a Fort Knox Big Box on freezing harsh concrete of the MCG. And while once is enough for some, we have had a few team members return 5 years running and find the experience very humbling.
• Our wider team has personally hosted numerous fundraising events, including soup kitchens, afternoon teas, cinema nights and raised more than $40,000.00 for the homeless.
• We even made a house of boxes as a way of promoting the cause and providing a background for sleepers to post photos for social media in a quest to increase donations.

Engaging and supporting local schools, clubs and sporting groups

All our sites support many local sporting and community groups. Like a big family we recognise that our support is needed for all ages and members of the community. From palliative care units, men’s shed, local school fetes and sporting clubs, we engage and support our local community groups as best as we can.

Supporting local families through clubs like the Redbacks is a great way to engage with the local community. The Eltham Redbacks Football Club is just one example of our community support. The club is excited about their upcoming $4 million rebuild this year which will ensure its longevity for many generations to come and hence needs massive financial and storage support.

Summary

While as a business our principles foster community engagement, winning the SSAA 2018 Community Engagement Award has not only made our Management Team proud, but this is a tremendous accolade for every individual member of our team (our family), as they have all embraced and amazed us with their generosity and commitment for growing our communities.

As quoted above it really does “take a village to raise a child” and the team here at Fort Knox Self Storage are helping to nurture, grow, support and develop children and families all over Melbourne and the world.