What It Means to Show Up: Giving Back at Hallam-ICS

When we think about what we’re thankful for, we often remember the people who made room for us or offered help when we needed it most. They didn’t always have the answers. Sometimes, they simply asked, “What do you need?” That kindness stays with us. This Thanksgiving, we want to carry it forward by listening closely and making time to help someone else.

Around the holiday table, that care takes familiar forms. We pull up another chair, check what’s in the oven, and ask whether anyone needs anything. A warm home is part of that welcome. But for Vermont households that depend on wood heat, keeping it warm can be a source of worry. As temperatures fall, a dwindling supply of firewood becomes something to watch, budget for, and hope will last.

Showing Up for Our Vermont Neighbors

Wood4Good offers reassurance to households facing that uncertainty: seasoned firewood, delivered free of charge, to help keep their homes warm. In 2026, Hallam-ICS’s Vermont employees gave their time to support that mission through a Service Day. The work was about more than firewood. It was about the people who would depend on it, helping neighbors face the winter with warmth and greater peace of mind.

In 2019, Eric Axelrod and his two sons shared their extra firewood with neighbors. From that generosity grew Wood4Good, sustained by volunteers and donations. Their story invites us to consider what we can offer: time, resources, or a skill. Giving, though, begins with listening. Community organizations know which tasks remain unfinished and where resources are stretched thin. Asking what they need most helps us give with care and purpose.

Showing up takes different forms. Across Hallam-ICS’s offices, Service Days connect employees with local organizations, letting community needs guide how employees use their time and skills. At Wood4Good, that means helping get firewood to households. Elsewhere, funding may be most useful. Employees and their families participated by walking, biking, running, swimming, paddling, and other activities. Offices competed for the Hallam Challenge trophy and a few bragging rights, but the real impact extended beyond the friendly competition.

Hallam-ICS employees helping process firewood during a Wood4Good Service Day.

The Hallam Challenge: Stronger Together

The program grew out of the 2020 Giving Trail, when gathering in person was difficult. It gave employees a way to stay active and participate together, even from different locations. In 2026, the Challenge continued with the theme “Stronger Together.”

Employees and their families participated by walking, biking, running, swimming, paddling, and other activities, turning their miles into charitable contributions. Offices competed for the Hallam Challenge trophy and a few bragging rights, but the real impact extended beyond the friendly competition.

As part of the 2026 Hallam Challenge, six Hallam-ICS offices each selected a community organization to receive a $3,300 Community Service Award, totaling $19,800 in donations.

• Connecticut: Fairview
• Massachusetts: Our Daily Bread – Mansfield Food Pantry
• New York: Lake George Land Conservancy
• North Carolina: The Helene Foundation
• Texas: Pflugerville Foundation
• Vermont: Vermont Adaptive

These selections connect the Challenge to the places employees call home while introducing colleagues to organizations they might never otherwise encounter. Having different ways to contribute lets more people participate. Some can log miles with family when a Service Day isn’t possible; others can offer a needed skill. Each contribution can begin a relationship that outlasts the event.

Giving Back Beyond the Holidays

Hallam-ICS’s Community Values of generosity, humility, and support come to life in what we do after an event: sharing what we can, accepting guidance, and following through. The volunteer day ends. The donation arrives. Yet community organizations still have people to serve, expenses to meet, and requests for help to answer. Staying connected can be as simple as asking how a project turned out or learning when volunteers are hardest to come by. It also means remembering an organization when we have something useful to offer again.

This Thanksgiving, we’re grateful for the community partners who welcome us and the colleagues who give their time, energy, and heart. But gratitude asks more of us than reflection. It asks us to notice, listen, and act long after the holidays. Let’s put generosity, humility, and support into practice by making room for one another and showing up for our neighbors. That is how we turn gratitude into something others can feel.

About Hallam-ICS

Hallam-ICS is an engineering and automation company that designs MEP systems for facilities and plants, engineers control and automation solutions, and ensures safety and regulatory compliance through arc flash studies, commissioning, and validation. Our offices are located in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Vermont, North Carolina, Texas and California and our projects take us world-wide.