You can hear the pride in her voice when Kelly Raso talks about her employer Alloy Silverstein and its commitment to the community. The South Jersey accounting firm is a great supporter of Impact100 South Jersey, sponsoring membership for five employees: Kim Sheehan, Angela Venti, Anne D’Amico, Julie Strohlein and Kelly. Alloy Silverstein also sponsored last year’s Big Reveal Celebration.
A second-year member of Impact100 SJ, Kelly is also proud of Alloy Silverstein’s response to COVID-19, educating clients with a steady stream of news and advice on everything from PPP loans to unemployment.
“There are many unknowns for my agricultural clients as they begin their season. Will they be able to get workers to pick the crops? What happens if someone gets infected? How will we maintain social distancing? For clients in retail businesses, those considered non-essential have been completely shut down. Their concerns are about cash flow, profitability and most of all, Survival,” she explains
“We’re informing them of the grants and loans available to help them stay in business. I worry about some of my smaller clients without many resources who have invested countless hours and dollars into their business. They are pouring their hearts out to me because they have no one else to turn to. I’m glad that we can be a sounding board and help them get through this pandemic.”
That same generosity of spirit is one of the things that attracted Kelly to Impact100 SJ. “Everyone is so passionate about giving back,” she enthuses. She is especially looking forward to her second annual meeting. “It’s very fulfilling when you get to cast your vote for the grantee you feel should receive the grant. It is also quite emotional when you see the great needs of everyone vying for support. It really makes you want to do more.”
A resident of Hammonton, NJ, Kelly is no stranger to giving back. Among her volunteer efforts, she was past president of the Hammonton Chamber of Commerce where she established BEST, the Business Education Series Today, to provide educational programs to assist the local business community. Now that her daughters are following in her footsteps, she feels proud and confident that her efforts to do good in the world will continue.