Griffin Capital Employees and Management Team Volunteer Days of Service for Operation Gratitude during 2016 Holidays and to Open 2017
El Segundo, Calif. (February 2, 2017) – Griffin Capital Corporation (“Griffin Capital”) today announced that a large contingent of its employees and management team, from its El Segundo headquarters and Irvine office, recently participated in two days of volunteer service for Operation Gratitude.
Operation Gratitude is a non-profit, charitable organization that annually sends more than 200,000 care packages filled with food, entertainment, hygiene, and handmade items, plus personal letters of appreciation, to U.S. veterans, first responders, new recruits, wounded heroes, their care givers, and to individually named U.S. service members deployed overseas and to their families waiting at home.
During the first day of service, held November 30, 2016, Griffin management and employees worked together at the Operation Gratitude warehouse to help prepare several thousand packages destined for deployed U.S. troops for the holiday season. Among their activities, the Griffin volunteers unpacked 10,000 pounds of candy, prepared 6,000 boxes for packing, read 3,000 letters for inclusion, made 103 paracord survival bracelets, and assisted in sorting, quality control and other essential tasks.
David Rupert, President of Griffin Capital, said, “Working together as a Griffin Capital team with Operation Gratitude was a rewarding and humbling experience. It was rewarding to roll up our sleeves and work at a steady clip to help put together packages for over 7,000 of our deployed troops. It was humbling to hear stories from the Operation Gratitude staff, including veterans of active duty, and to learn how appreciative our active military is to receive these care packages. We were told how the paracord bracelets we were assembling had literally been used to save lives in battle situations, and the letters we read – many written by schoolchildren – brought a smile to our face, a tear to our eyes and a lump to our throat. It is gratifying to know that these letters will be delivered to those who have sacrificed so much for our country. I was also proud that several of our employees asked to come back again to volunteer on their own.”
In addition to its day of service during the holiday season, Griffin Capital also announced that many of its employees volunteered at a subsequent service event on January 18, 2017. The team rolled 1,096 scarves to be placed in care packages for veterans, service members and others. The team also sorted oversized items for placement in care packages. The Operation Gratitude staff members in attendance thanked the Griffin Capital team for helping the organization accomplish its goals in preparation for its upcoming inventory review.
Stacey Danlyan, Special Programs Coordinator for Operation Gratitude, said, “We are so appreciative of Griffin Capital and all the work they provided. Their volunteers were amazing, and we hope they can come back soon. We know how thoroughly grateful our troops, veterans and first responders are to receive these packages and we simply cannot accomplish all that we do without the selfless assistance of caring people like the Griffin Capital team.”
Griffin Capital’s days of service events were among several other charitable activities in which the firm regularly participates. It has helped to build homes with Habitat for Humanity, provided firm-wide donations to both Homes for Our Troops and the National Alliance to End Homelessness, and every year Griffin provides each of its employees $500 to donate to a charity of their choice.
About Griffin Capital Corporation
Griffin Capital Corporation (“Griffin Capital”), is a privately held, Los Angeles headquartered investment and asset management company with a 22-year track record sponsoring real estate investment vehicles and managing institutional capital. Led by senior executives with more than two decades of real estate experience collectively encompassing over $22 billion of transaction value and more than 650 transactions, Griffin Capital and its affiliates have acquired or constructed approximately 58.4 million square feet of space since 1995. Griffin Capital and its affiliates own, manage, sponsor and/or co-sponsor a portfolio consisting of approximately 42 million square feet of space, located in 30 states and the United Kingdom, representing approximately $7.03billion* in asset value, based on purchase price, as of December 31, 2016. Additional information about Griffin Capital is available at www.griffincapital.com.
*Includes the property information related to interests held in certain joint ventures.
