Worksite Wellness Council of Massachusetts honoree 2018 and 2021.[9]
Community Involvement
The Gentle Giant Charitable Foundation was founded in 2005.[10] It focuses on two issues: youth leadership development through athletics and education, and homelessness prevention.[11][12]
Gentle Giant’s partnership with Household Goods provides logistical support to housing assistance programs. As part of the alliance, Giants transport and assemble donated furniture and other household goods to the new homes of those who faced homelessness.[13] Additionally, the company’s work with Move for Hunger has become a core element of its charitable endeavors. In 2021 Gentle Giant was named Move for Hunger’s ‘Mover of the Year’ having transported more than 385,000 pounds of food, the equivalent of 320,000 meals, to the Greater Boston Food Bank.[14]
Connection to rowing
Many of Gentle Giant's employees are athletes, specifically in the sport of rowing. In the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China, two former giants, Dan Walsh and Wyatt Allen, competed in the Men's Eight event, earning a bronze medal in the process.[15] Another former giant, Matt Muffelman, earned a seat in the Lightweight Men's Eight event in the 2008 World Rowing Championships, earning a gold medal.[15] Many other former giants have earned spots on various national teams, including 30 US National Team members, 10 foreign National Team members, and 14 Olympians. Amongst the Olympian athletes are Gentle Giant's resident crate builder Tom Kiefer who became an Olympic silver medalist in 1984.[15] In the company's history, it has employed over 400 rowers.[15]