Each year the American Cancer Society partners with a local business to plan and promote events throughout the year, and this year Pilgrim’s Pride in Russellville is the corporate sponsor.

The ACS works with several businesses throughout the year, but only one business receives the spot as corporate sponsor and helps with planning fundraising events.

“Being involved with ACS, it says a lot about Pilgrim’s and their culture and being a part of our community and just wanting to be involved and help any way that we can,” said Pilgrim’s Pride team leader Emily Jones. “We know it makes a huge difference to our business if we are there for our community and they’re prospering with us.”

Jones said she is working with several other Pilgrim’s employees to plan events throughout the year. There is a basketball tournament planned to take place during March Madness and a golf tournament planned for April 3.

She said right now it has not been decided where these events are going to take place, and all options are still being considered.

Jones added it has been great to see so many of the Pilgrim’s employees interested in helping.

Even if an employee is not able to help with planning events, he or she still has a way to help ACS through payroll deduction – a recent addition at Pilgrim’s that will allow workers the chance to automatically set money aside from their paycheck to go toward ACS.

“When you think about a place like Pilgrim’s, which has over a thousand employees, if each employee chose to give $1 of each paycheck, that adds up to be a lot of money raised for the American Cancer Society,” said senior community development manager for Relay for Life Anna Duncan.

Duncan said it is great to see a large company like Pilgrim’s supporting a wonderful cause.

“The 2019 cancer facts were just released, and it was the biggest decline in cancer deaths in years,” Duncan said. “So that tells us we’re doing something right, and that comes from being educated and learning and being an advocate for your own health.

“That shows us that we are on the right track, and we just have to keep going on that track.”