Community engagement

It is possible to do good and do good business at the same time. Truly built into our DNA, it was a part of our founder Bill Cook’s mission to lift the communities we are part of.

The best thing you can do for someone is give them an education and a job.
Pete Yonkman – President, Cook Medical

Removing barriers and building partnerships

We have established partnerships with multiple organizations that hire a diverse variety of members of the community to provide light manufacturing or service work for their employees. We have also co-led community-wide efforts to develop solutions for vulnerable populations in our community, particularly those who have substantial barriers to achieving their full potential.

Michael McFarland and Marckus Williams – owners and operators of the Indy Fresh Market – celebrate with their family and Pete Yonkman at the groundbreaking of Indy Fresh Market.

Progress on the manufacturing facility at 38th and Sheridan

Goodwill

Cook partnered with Goodwill to start their Commercial Services Center in Bloomington, Indiana, which currently has 30+ employees with plans to expand further.
Read this article about our ongoing partnership with Goodwill.
Cook Medical, Goodwill of Central & Southern Indiana, The Indianapolis Foundation, IMPACT Central Indiana, and the United Northeast Community Development Corporation partnered to build a medical device manufacturing facility at 38th Street and Sheridan Avenue in Northeast Indianapolis. Once complete, the facility will provide 100 jobs for the area.
Because that neighborhood is considered a food desert, the 38th and Sheridan project is expanding to include a new full-service grocery store that will be constructed near the manufacturing facility. Cook is partnering with two members of the community that will run the business with a lease-to-own model. Not only will the store provide additional jobs and future educational opportunities for residents, but it will also bring a much-needed food source to the community.

RecycleForce

Cook partners with RecycleForce to offer free electronic recycling days for the Bloomington, Indiana, community. RecycleForce employs people who were previously incarcerated.
RecycleForce processes 209,000 pounds of recycling and serves more than 400 individuals each year.

Employees from Big Boys Moving helping with our annual Recycle Day

Big Boys Moving

Big Boys Moving is a Bloomington, Indiana, based company with the motto of “moving you with an attitude of gratitude.” The black-owned business was started to help previously incarcerated people “re-invent” themselves by providing work, wrap-around services, and the ability to give back to the community.
Cook contracts with Big Boys Moving to provide work opportunities—such as office furniture and equipment moving, cardboard recycling, landscaping, and car detailing—to Big Boys Moving employees in support of their mission.

Watch this video to learn more about our partnership with Stone Belt.

Stone Belt

We partner with Stone Belt, an organization that helps individuals with mental and physical disabilities lead fulfilling lives by providing light contracting work for their clients. In 2019, Stone Belt employed 75 people with disabilities, and they supplied Cook with more than 5 million units.

Stride Coalition

Cook co-founded the Stride Coalition and helped raise 2 million dollars for the opening of the Stride Center in Bloomington, Indiana. The Stride Coalition’s mission is to mobilize resources, share knowledge, and influence coordinated community-wide substance use treatment efforts.
Visit stridecoalition.org for more information.

Pete Yonkman – President, Cook Medical and Bloomington, IN community leaders at the ribbon-cutting of the Stride Center

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