Niche butter company steps up for Michigan-based charity.

Employees of Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Butterball Farms Inc. have volunteered to help the annual S.H.O.E. nights for In The Image, a non-profit organization that links gently used clothing, housewares, furniture and appliances with families in need in a manner that enhances dignity, embraces choice, encourages participation and builds a community of diversity.

The group provided 6,000 Grand Rapids Public School elementary students with brand-new pairs of shoes through its Shoes Help Our Elementary Students (S.H.O.E.S) program. Butterball Farms partnered with In The Image for its annual S.H.O.E.S event and had volunteers donate their time to help size and distribute shoes. “We’ve participated for years helping In The Image reach out to our communities,” says Mark Peters, president and chief executive officer of Butterball Farms Inc. and chairman of In The Image. “Our employees are helped through In The Image, and when we give back we create a circle of continuing support that is invaluable to our mission of enriching lives.”

More than 20 employees and their families signed up to participate. “We cannot thank employees and companies like Butterball Farms enough for their dedication to helping kids in our communities start school off on the right foot,” says Paul Haagsman, executive director of In The Image. “It’s amazing to see the kids faces when they have a new pair of shoes to start the school year. Their entire body language exudes confidence and enthusiasm – and that is the right way to start off a school year!”

For more information on In The Image or Butterball Farms, visit www.intheimage.org or www.butterballbutter.com .