In today’s edition of officeinsight magazine, I head to Medinah Country Club for the Saving Lives Honoree Event. The event celebrated John Fellowes, president and chief executive officer of Fellowes Brands, who received the Spirit of Life Award from City of Hope. If you don’t know them, City of Hope is an organization focused on groundbreaking research into cancer, diabetes and other life-threatening illnesses. City of Hope was the beneficiary of the event, which raised more than $1 million to support its lifesaving research and benefit the year’s Expanding Hope Campaign.

I wrote about the event to highlight the work of City of Hope and how the office products industry got behind this worthwhile charity. It is a life-saving partnership between the business products industry and City of Hope that started in the early 1980s with Jack Miller, founder of Quill office products, who envisioned a higher purpose for the industry beyond selling office supplies and brought together five other industry leaders, including James Fellowes, John Fellowes’ father. The industry and Fellowes family have embraced the charity and over the years and have raised nearly $300 million for City of Hope.

John Fellowes is the third generation of Fellowes Brands leaders to be honored with the Spirit of Life Award from the City of Hope and bonds between the family and charitable organization run deep and have lasted more than 40 years. Though John Fellowes was honored for his work with City of Hope, he is quick to share the honor with the rest of the industry, which has rallied around the charity. He said there are more than 50 companies in the office products industry that come together every year to do small events that raise money for City of Hope, from golf outings to cycling challenges to charity walks.

Fellowes Brands is unique in that it straddles both the office products and office furniture markets. While the office furniture industry is definitely a charitable group (I know, because I live in Grand Rapids, a community that has benefited greatly from the charitable work of Steelcase, MillerKnoll, Haworth and many other generous office furniture makers), it does not have a common charity it supports.

I’d like to make the case for joining the office products industry in its support of City of Hope. City of Hope’s mission is to make hope a reality for all touched by cancer and diabetes. Founded in 1913, City of Hope has grown into one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the U.S. City of Hope research has been the basis for numerous breakthrough cancer medicines, as well as human synthetic insulin and monoclonal antibodies. City of Hope’s growing national system includes its Los Angeles campus, a network of clinical care locations across Southern California, a new cancer center in Orange County, Calif., and cancer treatment centers and outpatient facilities in the Atlanta, Chicago and Phoenix areas.

It is an impactful, well-run organization that literally saves lives.

I’d also like to turn the industry’s attention to INDEAL Cares, the charitable initiative launched by the team behind INDEAL, and its focus on improving the mental, physical, and emotional well-being of the people who bring our industry to life. And right now, INDEAL Cares is calling on every professional in the commercial interiors space to take part in something powerful: the 2025 I Care Employee Wellness Survey.

Launched in 2020, the I Care Survey is an annual, confidential questionnaire designed to measure and better understand the health and wellness of employees across the commercial interiors sector. Now in its fifth year, the survey has become a vital tool in identifying the real challenges people face at work, from stress and burnout to physical strain and lifestyle habits.

The goal? To turn data into action, creating meaningful wellness programs and resources that respond directly to what employees say they need most. You can help by clicking here to take the survey.

I see all the charitable work undertaken by office furniture manufacturers, dealers, reps and designers and it makes me proud to be in this industry.

But perhaps through City of Hope and INDEAL Cares, we can connect in a profound way to move the needle the same way the office products industry has. Let’s get to work!