Community Involvement



BKD encourages our staff to become actively involved in community organizations and events and to participate in our BKD Foundation outreach where appropriate. It’s our way of supporting the community while expanding our network of business contacts.

Our community involvement is one way BKD gives back to the communities that have given so much to us. Go to community involvement or to the other BKD locations for more information about BKD's ties to our communities firmwide and locally. Here is a sample list of organizations our St. Louis and Decatur partners and employees take pride in supporting:

  • Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri
  • Mathews Dickey Boys & Girls Club
  • Variety the Children's Charity of St. Louis
  • Center for Creative Arts
  • Easter Seals of Eastern Missouri
  • Ronald McDonald House
  • The Magic House
  • Police Athletic League
  • Arthritis Foundation
  • Muscular Dystrophy Association
  • United Way
  • YWCA

Meeting the Challenge

Troy Swinford, Partner presents Denise Smith, Executive Director United Way of Decatur and Mid Illinois with the donations from the Decatur office along with a check from BKD Foundation.

Teams in the St. Louis and Central Illinois offices  worked together to meet their United Way campaign goal of 100% participation and raised more than $35,000!  The offices celebrated with catered lunch and Reward Time Off drawings.

Description of Contest

  1. Once a team reached 50% participation, they were entered into a drawing for two movie passes.
  2. Once a team reached 75% participation, they had a “jeans & college sweat shirt” day
  3. For each team that reaches 100% participation, there was a drawing for an RTO day.

The Backstoppers

Mark Prouhet, left, and Tim Snavely, right, present BKD Foundation's $1,500 donation to Chief Ron Batelle, BackStoppers executive director.

Since late 1959, The BackStoppers have served the families of police officers and firefighters in the St. Louis area who have perished in the line of duty. You can find out more information, including membership and donation information, on The Backstoppers by visiting their web site at www.backstoppers.org.

BKD recently donated $1,500 to The Backstoppers’ general fund which will be used to support the families of fallen officers and firefighters.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri

Big Brothers Big Sisters was founded in 1904 and is the oldest, largest and most effective youth mentoring organization in the United States. In 2004, the national organization served more than 220,000 young people, ages five through 18, in 5,000 communities across the country in one-to-one relationships. Locally founded in 1914, the Eastern Missouri affiliate is 12th largest in size among the 470 affiliates across the country. Big Brother/Big Sister mentors bring a little magic into the everyday lives of the young people they are matched with through the most fundamental of human relationships: a caring friendship between two people.

BKD contributed $3,000 to St. Louis Ram’s Quarterback Marc Bulger’s “12 Matches of Christmas” program which surpassed its goal of raising $12,000 and matching 12 children with mentors by Christmas.

For more information on the program, visit Big Brothers Big Sisters web site at www.bbbsemo.org.

Salvation Army

Molly Strader-Fruit, second from left, and Heather Powell, second from right, accept BKD's 1st place plaque from the Salvation Army on behalf of the Decatur office.

The Salvation Army is a worldwide organization committed to serving people, changing one life at a time. Their diverse ministries attract a wide variety of participants and supporters.

The Decatur office came together to support the Salvation Army food drive and sculpture contest. BKD entered a canned sculpture into the contest titled “Lend a Helping Hand” and was awarded first place. The office donated more than $1,000, including 1,500 canned goods and sculpture materials.