2026 Month of Kindness Impact Report

How IDEAL Industries Employees Took Global Action to Make Local Impact

A collage of nine photos shows groups of volunteers participating in community service activities. Scenes include people assembling paper bags of food in a warehouse, individuals organizing and packing backpacks in an office, and volunteers posing with backpacks near a trailer. One large image features a group standing in front of an orange truck labeled “0800 Hungry Food Ministry.” Additional photos show a large group gathered in a meeting room, a team standing before a wall with the text “Our FB Village,” and volunteers digging and working outdoors in a landscaped area. The images focus on teamwork and organized community support efforts.

IDEAL Industries celebrated its second annual “Month of Kindness” in August with numerous initiatives that brought to life the company’s purpose of Building an IDEAL World™, living its values, and giving back to local communities. 

Through service, charitable giving, and acts of kindness, employees across IDEAL Industries came together to strengthen the communities where we live and work. In 2026, Month of Kindness activated employees across six countries and 100% of our global sites, helping positively impact more than 36,000 people around the world. 

From a Local Tradition to Global Action: The History Behind Month of Kindness 

What began as an annual Day of Kindness at IDEAL’s Illinois campus expanded into a month-long global initiative in 2025 with continued momentum this year.  

The tradition is rooted in IDEAL’s history. When J. Walter Becker founded IDEAL in 1916, he named the company after his commitment to creating “IDEAL” relationships with his customers, employees, and community. More than a century later, kindness and respect remain central to IDEAL’s culture and are reflected in two of our five core values.  

Today, IDEAL Industries celebrates J. Walter Becker’s birthday month in August with a “Month of Kindness.” Inspired by Becker’s belief in the value of kindness, IDEAL employees around the world spend the month giving back to communities where they live and work through numerous volunteer projects and charitable initiatives. 

2026 Impact at a Glance 

Across IDEAL’s global businesses, Month of Kindness brought employees together around locally relevant opportunities to serve, give and recognize others. The result was measurable impact across communities around the world. 

36,359 

Individuals Impacted 

$221,000+ 

Community Investment & Charitable Giving 

737.5 

Volunteer Hours 

100% 

Global Site Participation 

6

Countries  

18  

Organized Activities 

This year’s Month of Kindness spanned six counties and involved all three of IDEAL’s global businesses: Anderson Power, Enatel, and IDEAL Electrical. From the United States to New Zealand, IDEAL employees celebrated kindness in the workplace and exhibited kindness toward their local communities through acts of service, charitable giving, and virtual kindness cards. 

A four-panel infographic on a purple background presents IDEAL Foundation impact metrics. The top left shows “18 Organized Activities.” The top right reads “737.5 Volunteer Hours Contributed.” The bottom left displays “$192,266 IDEAL Foundation Investment.” The bottom right states “36,359 Individuals Impacted.” Simple line icons accompany each metric.

Over the course of the 2026 Month of Kindness, numerous volunteer projects positively impacted over 36,000 people around the world. The IDEAL Industries Foundation helped donate the funds that made the month’s many projects possible. 

Month of Kindness Local Activity Event Spotlight 

Month of Kindness was designed to empower employees to support needs within their own communities. Across IDEAL’s global footprint, activities addressed areas ranging from housing and food insecurity to education, family support and environmental stewardship.  

No matter how large or small the effort, employees found many ways to make a difference and work together in Building an IDEAL World™. 

The examples below represent just a few of the ways employees put kindness into action in 2026.

A group of five people wearing aprons stand smiling in a warehouse with rows of brown paper grocery bags on tables and stacked boxes behind them, indicating a volunteer food-packing activity.

Addressing Food Insecurity  

More than 25 IDEAL Electrical™ and IDEAL Industries employees supported Rooted for Good, a DeKalb County nonprofit working to address hunger and expand access to healthy, sustainably grown food. Employees supported the organization’s community gardening efforts while also putting their electrical expertise to work through lighting and electrical upgrades. The activation served 25,000 people and was supported by more than $11,700 in IDEAL Industries Foundation funding. 
 
In New Zealand, Enatel® employees helped address food insecurity by preparing meals for families staying at Ronald McDonald House, packing lunches for schoolchildren through Full Bellies and stocking food parcels through 0800 Hungry. The Full Bellies effort alone produced 1,400 packed lunches, while the 0800 Hungry activation served 800 people.

Two individuals use grabber tools to pick up litter into a black bag beside a hedge in a city park with trees, a walkway, and buildings in the background.

Protecting Local Environments

Employees also supported environmental stewardship in communities around the world. In Christchurch, 26 Enatel employees contributed 93 volunteer hours to conservation work with the Avon Otakaro Network, helping prepare and plant earthquake-damaged land along the Avon River as part of efforts to create an ecological reserve and river park. 
 
In China, IDEAL Electrical employees contributed 18 volunteer hours cleaning litter from a local park. 
 

At a construction site, three volunteers in blue hard hats and gray shirts converse; one shirt reads “IDEAL Connections” and another reads “VOLUNTEER,” with houses and work trailers in the background.

Strengthening Community Spaces 

IDEAL Electrical employees in the United States and Canada supported affordable housing through multiple Habitat for Humanity® build days, helping strengthen the communities where employees live and work. 
 
IDEAL Electrical employees also put their professional skills to work for Family Service Agency of DeKalb County, an organization serving 8,000 people, providing advocacy, counseling, youth programming, senior services and community support. Twenty employees contributed 120 volunteer hours completing lighting and electrical upgrades, helping strengthen facilities that support services throughout the community.

Six people in white Anderson Power T‑shirts stand in an office holding clear bags filled with IDEAL-branded notebooks and school supplies, posing for a group photo.

Helping Students Start the School Year Ready 

In India, Anderson Power® employees assembled supply kits for underprivileged students. By packing nutritional snacks, stationery, and other essentials, the team helped local students prepare for the upcoming school year. 
 
At IDEAL Canada, 43 employees contributed 68 volunteer hours assembling 100 backpacks filled with essential school supplies and personalized notes of encouragement for local children and families through Dreams & Wishes Charity. The initiative received more than $9,900 in Foundation support. 

A person in a white shirt uses a blue cord reel to feed a yellow wire along the metal framing inside a greenhouse or polytunnel. The scene shows the arched structure and support beams with the person focused on the installation task.
Volunteers wearing shirts labeled “VOLUNTEER” and “IDEAL Connections” cut and measure lumber on a folding table with a miter saw under a blue canopy at an outdoor garden site, with raised beds and additional helpers in the background.
Person crouching beside a wooden gate, using a screwdriver to install or adjust a small rectangular device on the fence; house siding and garden plants in the background.
Person in a white T-shirt smiling while placing one of four pumpkins lined up on a rustic wooden table in a grassy farm field with garden plants and a tree overhead on a sunny day.
A technician wearing a lanyard adjusts a white dual-floodlight security camera mounted on gray house siding next to a white exterior door, holding a small notepad. A wooden fence and leafy trees are visible in the background.
Person trimming sunflower stems with pruning shears at a table inside a greenhouse, with carts and structures in the background.

Recognizing Kindness in the Workplace

Month of Kindness extended beyond volunteer activities and charitable giving. Throughout August, employees were invited to recognize colleagues who brought kindness to work through mentorship, encouragement, teamwork, leadership and everyday support. 

Peer-to-peer recognitions were submitted to IDEAL’s company-wide Kindness Feed, highlighting the ways employees supported one another across the organization. 

A few of the many recognitions shared during the month are highlighted below.  

A graphic titled “The Kindness Feed” presents three recognition cards. Left card: “Recognized: Dyan,” with a note praising her genuine kindness and efforts to make everyone feel cared for and welcome. Center card: “Recognized: Joe,” noting he helps his team, embraces change and testing new processes, learns D365, assists teammates with current processes, and spreads a positive attitude. Right card: “Recognized: Emma,” explaining she supports teammates through difficult personal situations with kindness, compassion, and a sincere desire to ease their burden. Small social icons appear below each card.

Building an IDEAL World Through Action 

At IDEAL Industries, Building an IDEAL World™ means turning purpose and values into action. Kindness is one of IDEAL’s five core values, shaping how the company engages with employees, customers and the communities in which we operate. 

The 2026 Month of Kindness brought that commitment to life on a global scale. Across six countries and 100% of IDEAL’s global sites, employees contributed their time, resources and talents to causes reflecting the needs of their local communities. Together, those efforts helped positively impact 36,359 people. 

One month created thousands of individual points of impact, but the commitment extends beyond August. Through the IDEAL Industries Foundation, employee volunteerism, charitable giving and everyday acts of kindness, IDEAL remains focused on strengthening the communities where our employees live and work.

Five people in matching light blue shirts pose on a wooden deck under a covered walkway, each holding a litter picker; two hold black trash bags, with large windows and greenery in the background.

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About IDEAL Industries

IDEAL Industries™ is a global and diversified company advancing electrification and power management solutions. Since 1916, we have built a legacy of trust through strong relationships, a focus on community, and a commitment to innovation. Our portfolio includes Anderson Power®, Enatel®, and IDEAL Electrical™. Under multi-generational family ownership, IDEAL Industries continues to invest in the technologies and people shaping an electrified future with the purpose of Building an IDEAL World™.

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