“Helping people is at the heart of all we do,” stated S-One Co-Founder, Art Lambert. “We’re dedicated to our decade-long partnership with All Faiths Food Bank and to help end hunger, especially at a crucial time for our youth.”

Art had the opportunity to discuss how community engagement is interwoven into our corporate culture in an interview with SRQ Magazine. Learn how our internship program helps students embrace S-One values and makes a lasting impression. Read the article here.

Through the S-One internship program, eight college students and one college graduate gain real-world knowledge to help them pursue their chosen careers, as well as experience how community engagement is part of the company’s culture.

“Community service brings us together, strengthens our bonds, and reminds us that we can truly be a force for good,” said intern, Frankie Wren.

“S-One has strong values that incorporate community engagement into its culture,” emphasized intern, Carly Jones. “These efforts contribute to a more compassionate, connected, and sustainable community.”

“Learning about philanthropy is important because it helps us understand the struggles and needs of others, encourages us to take responsibility, and allows us to grow as individuals,” explained intern, Alex Lane.       

“Community service reminds me to be grateful for what I have and feel compassion for those less fortunate,” stated intern, Patrick Haas.       

Summer is a time of food insecurity. The end of the school year is when hunger begins for many young lives in our community, impacting over 40,000 local children, according to All Faiths Food Bank.

“All Faiths Food Bank is grateful for S-One’s ongoing partnership and support, both through volunteerism and financial contributions,” said Victoria Hasselbring, Manager of Donor Stewardship, All Faiths Food Bank. “With the help and involvement of corporate partners like S-One, we will have the means to ensure these kids receive the nutritious food and resources they need for healthy growth and development and can return to school in the fall, ready to learn.” 

Inflation has added to the struggle of low-income workers to feed their families. The USDA reports food purchased from grocery stores or supermarkets was 5.8% higher in May 2023 than in May 2022.  

All Faiths Food Bank is the only food bank, and largest hunger relief organization, in Sarasota and DeSoto counties. All Faiths Food Bank was founded in 1989 by a group of individuals who, through their respective organizations, were feeding the hungry. They combined efforts to incorporate as All Faiths Food Bank, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. All Faiths has been a Certified Member of the Feeding America network since 1990. Learn more at allfaithsfoodbank.org.

Over the years, competitive S-One canstruction builds included printers, Wrigley Field, a Thanksgiving Day parade, and even working replicas of video games, skee ball and board games. Last year the theme was movies, and the “Wizard of Oz” and “Toy Story” canstructions generated nearly 2,200 pounds of food — for the first time, the 1 ton mark had been reached.

Let’s Take a Trip

This year, S-One’s global offices created an “Around the World” experience for All Faiths. Starting on the fifth floor of S-One’s corporate offices on Main Street, the “journey” starts over the Skyway Bridge, complete with a toll booth, cargo ship and a shark in the water. The trip continues through our stairwell, which represents the airport, along with a board of arrivals and departures.

Next, you see the S-One Barcelona team in their airplane seats aboard “S-One Airlines.” Finally, the trip ends in London where visitors rendezvous with the Meghan and Harry and the Queen at Big Ben and Tower Bridge.

When the trip was over, Art Lambert presented the team from All Faiths a check for $1,000 and more than 1.26 tons of food had been collected.

“Your gift of $1,000 along with 2,522 pounds of food will be used to provide fresh produce, meats and groceries to children, families and seniors in our community who, without your help, might otherwise go hungry,” wrote Denise Cotler, Chief Development officer at All Faiths Food Bank. “Thanks to individuals like you, in 2017, we served 66,000 people 8.5 million meals.”

To see all the action throughout S-One’s offices during the 2018 Food Drive Canstruction project, click through the gallery below.

About S-One: S-One Holdings Corporation is a global holding company headquartered in Sarasota, Fla., that oversees a number of subsidiary companies: ABAQA, Avatrex, Brand Management Group, LexJet, Utopia Digital Technologies and S-One Labels & Packaging. Through its subsidiary companies, S-One has strategic alliances with Michelman, Toray America, Protect-all, Marabu Coatings, Vescom America, Fredrix Canvas, HP and KODAK.

Media Contact: Shellie Terry, shellie.terry@sone.com, 941-256-7915

Eight teams throughout S-One’s headquarters, located on Main Street in downtown Sarasota, created imaginative structures that ranged from a mini Wrigley Field and Mario Bros. re-enactments to life-sized Operation and Jenga games, with whimsical S-One themes and interactive play.

The teams competed for an extra day of vacation and a catered lunch. The judges for the day included guests from All Faiths, Beau Wilberding, senior director of marketing, and Elaina Mand, community engagement manager, as well as members of the S-One leadership team.

“Every year, our teams have a lot fun creating these structures and competing with each other,” says Jason Metnick of S-One’s leadership team. “But ultimately, we’re all members of this community, which has supported us through the years, and this is an opportunity for us to give back.”

Two teams went on to win the competition: The Operation game featuring S-One founders Art Lambert and Ron Simkins and one of the Mario Bros. displays. “It involved not only lots of canned food, but also choreography and various characters from Mario Bros. … it was amazing,” Wilberding told ABC-7, which was on hand during the event. (See the news coverage at 19:40 on ABC-7’s site.)

The event raised a total of 1,883 pounds of food, bringing the total S-One donations for the last three years to more than 6,600 pounds. According to its 2015 annual report, All Faiths Food Bank serves 63,000 people per year, distributing 6.5 million meals in Sarasota and DeSoto counties.

Check out the video above and the gallery below to see the creative structures the teams built:

ABOUT S-ONE HOLDINGS CORPORATION: S-One Holdings Corporation is a global holding company headquartered in Sarasota, Fla., that oversees a number of subsidiary companies: ABAQA, Avatrex, Brand Management Group, LexJet and Utopia Digital Technologies. S-One owns the brand names of Avatrex, Craft Attitude®, LexJet®, and Sunset®. S-One’s subsidiaries and brands are known throughout the graphics and media industries for the research, development, manufacturing, sale and distribution of products for imaging and design professionals worldwide.

To keep in the spirit of previous years, the various teams within S-One created “can-struction” sculptures, made entirely of the food to be donated. The displays included two skee-ball games, a giant pumpkin pie, the Eiffel Tower, a castle and drawbridge and Snoopy’s dog house, complete with Woodstock and a Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

“Wow! S-One Holdings Corporation’s staff really know their can-struction,” All Faiths said on its Facebook page. “What terrific talent and generosity.”

Take a look at the photos of S-One’s displays in the gallery below.

Throughout the fourth and fifth floors of the Ellis Building in downtown Sarasota, which houses S-One’s headquarters, the teams built a variety of structures including a sushi platter, a pumpkin pie, a mouse in a maze, an interactive advent calendar, a basketball hoop, a Christmas tree and to finish it off, a Thanksgiving Day parade featuring Tom the Turkey and Santa Claus himself. “Our team’s creativity never ceases to amaze me,” said Art Lambert, co-founder of S-One.

Laura Coyle, director of marketing for All Faiths, was on hand to help the S-One leadership team judge the competition. “The food came to just over 2,400 pounds — enough food for 2,000 meals,” Coyle said. “Thank you again for the generosity, and I had so much fun!”

S-One is proud to have helped All Faiths, which feeds 41,000 individuals annually, and we wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!