At Cresswood, serving the community means putting people first—whether that happens in a garden bed, on a golf course, at a community fundraiser, or through the work of a team member who simply sees a need and steps in.
Cresswood Shredding Machinery is known for building equipment that helps manufacturers reduce waste, recover useful material, and keep production moving. But the company’s sense of responsibility reaches beyond the manufacturing floor in Cortland, Illinois.
Giving back is one of the ways the Cresswood team stays connected to the communities around it. Employees have supported local food access, vocational training, education, pediatric cancer programs, families in crisis, animal welfare, and other organizations doing practical work close to home. Two partnerships show that commitment especially well: Cresswood’s multifaceted support of Rooted for Good—from donating produce grown in the company garden to once again serving as Presenting Sponsor of A Dinner for Good—and its ongoing support of Cal’s Angels.
The causes are different. The way the team approaches them is not. Show up. Contribute what you can. Keep looking for useful ways to help.
A Garden That Turns Teamwork Into Fresh Food
There is something direct about a company garden. Someone prepares the beds. Someone plants the seedlings. Someone remembers to water them when the weather turns hot. Later, somebody harvests the vegetables and brings them to an organization that can put them in the hands of local neighbors.
That is how Cresswood’s community garden works during the growing season. Team members help prepare soil, build and maintain raised beds, plant crops, and care for the garden at the facility. Ashanti Rainey, a member of Cresswood’s Maintenance team, has helped with the practical work behind the garden, including the raised beds that make the growing space possible.
In Cresswood’s story about cultivating its community garden, the company shared how employees expanded the garden and donated fresh organic produce to the local food-access program then known as DeKalb County Community Gardens. The organization is now Rooted for Good, and the partnership continues.
The garden has grown, too. A more recent Cresswood update, Planting Hope: Dedicating a Garden Feature and Supporting Rooted for Good, described an expanded 400-square-foot growing space, new beds, and a goal of sending even more produce to local families facing food insecurity.
Cresswood’s team also sources seedlings through Rooted for Good’s vocational farm. That means the connection is not only about the vegetables harvested at the end of the season. It also supports a program where adults with developmental disabilities can build job skills through greenhouse production, gardening, and landscape work.
Continuing the Partnership Through A Dinner for Good
Cresswood’s support of Rooted for Good extends beyond the company garden. Cresswood Shredding Machinery is once again the Presenting Sponsor of A Dinner for Good, Rooted for Good’s annual locally sourced dinner and community gathering.
The 2026 event will take place Friday, September 25, and will give attendees an opportunity to experience both the flavors of the region and the work Rooted for Good is doing to help feed local neighbors. The evening will include an optional tour of the Rooted for Good and Northwestern Medicine Garden, hors d’oeuvres, dinner prepared by Wild Carrot Cooking Company, and remarks from Rooted for Good’s leadership, volunteers, and sponsors.
Serving as Presenting Sponsor again this year reflects the depth of Cresswood’s relationship with Rooted for Good. From growing and donating fresh produce to supporting vocational programming and helping bring the community together for this annual fundraiser, Cresswood continues to find practical ways to advance the organization’s mission.
What Rooted for Good Does in DeKalb County
Rooted for Good was formerly known as DeKalb County Community Gardens. Its mission is to empower people to access healthy, sustainably grown food and address the root causes of hunger.
The organization works on several parts of that problem at once. It helps meet immediate food needs, provides education and training, connects volunteers with useful work, supports community gardens, and creates vocational opportunities. Its Mobile Food Pantry brings free groceries to communities throughout DeKalb County, including Cortland, DeKalb, Hinckley, Malta, Sandwich, and Waterman.
At Rooted for Good’s Kirkland location—formerly Walnut Grove Vocational Farm—participants learn skills such as greenhouse production, vegetable production, and landscape maintenance. The training is tailored to each person’s abilities and goals, with support for future employment or volunteer opportunities.
Since its founding, Rooted for Good reports distributing more than 2 million pounds of food to people in need. The work is broad, but it stays personal. A box of groceries helps a household this week. A class, garden shift, or vocational opportunity can help someone build more stability over time.
How You Can Support Rooted for Good
If you live in DeKalb County or the surrounding area, there are several ways to participate:
- Attend A Dinner for Good. Join Rooted for Good for its locally sourced annual dinner, presented by Cresswood Shredding Machinery, on Friday, September 25, 2026. Visit the official A Dinner for Good event page for current ticket and event information
- Donate extra produce. Have more tomatoes, peppers, beans, or other vegetables than your household can use? Visit Rooted for Good’s current produce-donation information before bringing a harvest, so you have the right contact and drop-off instructions.
- Volunteer. Rooted for Good lists opportunities at its food hubs, Mobile Food Pantry, community gardens, prairie restoration project, and vocational farm on its volunteer page. Some shifts are one-time opportunities; others can become a regular commitment.
- Make a financial gift. One-time and recurring donations help support food distribution, training, education, and garden programs. Start at the organization’s official website for current giving options.
- Support the campus campaign. Rooted for Good is also working toward a centralized campus with food, garden, classroom, warehouse, and vocational resources. Details are available through its campus campaign.
Schedules, availability, and donation instructions can change, so check the organization’s website before making plans.
Cresswood Also Shows Up for Families Facing Pediatric Cancer
Food insecurity is one kind of hardship. Pediatric cancer is another, and families facing a child’s diagnosis need a community that stays close for the long haul.
Cal’s Angels is a 501(c)(3) pediatric cancer foundation established in memory of Cal Sutter. Its mission is to grant wishes, raise awareness, and fund research to help children fighting cancer. The organization also supports programs that provide practical help, comfort, and meaningful moments for families during treatment.
Cresswood employees have supported Cal’s Angels through fundraising and participation in events, including the organization’s annual golf outing. Jenni Gayden captured the spirit of that day in a LinkedIn post: “My favorite outing of the year.” It is an uncomplicated sentence, but it says a lot about why people return to these events. They are meaningful, social, and tied to a mission that matters.
The Cal’s Angels golf outing page and events calendar are the best places to find current registration, sponsorship, and volunteer information.
Cresswood team members have supported the organization in other ways, too. In 2025, President Ryan Butzman and team member Conner O’Donnell took part in the annual Just Shave It event. Ryan raised $2,850 and finished third overall in fundraising. Describing Conner, Ryan said, “Conner isn’t just a skilled welder—he’s a fantastic human being and a joy to be around.”
You can read more about that effort in Cresswood’s Just Shave It story. The event raised funds and awareness for pediatric cancer research, but it also showed something important about the Cresswood team: people are willing to participate personally, not simply add their name to a sponsor list.
Ways to Support Cal’s Angels
You do not have to be part of a company team to help. You can:
- Donate through the official Cal’s Angels giving page.
- Volunteer through the organization’s volunteer form.
- Join a fundraiser or explore golf outings, races, awareness events, and other opportunities through the Cal’s Angels events page.
- Check for an employer match. Your company may match eligible donations or offer volunteer-grant support. Cal’s Angels explains how to check through its employer-match information.
- Share the mission. A conversation, social post, awareness shirt, or invitation to an event can help more people understand what pediatric cancer families are carrying.
A gift is valuable. So is the time it takes to volunteer, fundraise, or bring another person into the community around these families.
This Support Has Taken Many Forms Over the Years
Cresswood’s local involvement is not limited to one organization or one type of event. Employees have helped direct support toward causes that matter to the people on the team, including:
- Tails Humane Society and animal welfare in DeKalb County
- Project Seth and mental health awareness for youth and young adults
- The family of DeKalb County Deputy Christina Musil
- Kishwaukee College Foundation manufacturing scholarships
- Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana
- Barb Food Mart, Open Door Rehabilitation Center, and the Genoa Township Park Foundation
- Local giving efforts connected with Give DeKalb County
Those stories are worth revisiting because they show how community support can start with employees noticing what is happening around them. One department may care deeply about vocational education. Another may know a family that needs help. Someone else may have a connection to a food pantry, a shelter, or a pediatric cancer fundraiser.
Cresswood has shared more of that history through articles about supporting a DeKalb County community garden event, community impact and employee involvement, and the team’s annual Thanksgiving tradition.
The details change. The habit of looking for a way to help has stayed consistent.
The Manufacturing Work Behind the Community Work
Cresswood’s community involvement is the focus of this article, but it is also useful to understand the company people are supporting.
Cresswood is a family-owned, American manufacturer based in Cortland, Illinois. The company designs and builds low-RPM industrial shredders and grinders in-house, with engineering, design, and manufacturing capabilities under one roof. Its equipment is engineered to order rather than treated as a one-size-fits-all purchase.
For plant managers and recycling operators asking who makes American-made industrial shredders and grinders, that distinction matters. The right system depends on the material, volume, feed method, desired output, available floor space, and the way the equipment needs to fit into the rest of the operation. Cresswood provides both horizontal and vertical solutions, along with replaceable tooling and application-specific configurations for wood, pallets, paper, plastics, film, and related recycling operations.
The relationship also extends beyond the day a machine ships. Cresswood supports customers with installation, training, replacement parts, troubleshooting, and ongoing service. That is an important part of total operating value. When a company compares industrial shredder costs, the purchase price is only one piece of the decision. Labor, hauling and disposal costs, downtime, throughput, tooling, maintenance, and service support all affect the total cost of ownership.
That same practical mindset appears in Cresswood’s community work. The team looks for support that does something useful, whether that means fresh produce, job training, family assistance, pediatric cancer research, or a community event that brings people together around an important mission.
A Stronger Community Grows Through Ordinary Actions
You do not need to run a manufacturing company to make a difference in your own community. You can share what your garden produces, sign up for a food-pantry shift, attend a fundraiser such as A Dinner for Good, ask your employer about matching gifts, or learn which organizations are already doing good work near you.
If you are in the DeKalb County area, start with Rooted for Good or Cal’s Angels. If you are looking for other local partnerships, the Cresswood blog offers more stories about the organizations and community efforts the team has supported.
And if you are a nonprofit or community group that would like to connect with Cresswood, visit the Cresswood contact page or call 800-962-7302.
Cresswood is proud to build American-made industrial shredders and world-class industrial grinders. It is equally important to the team that the company remains a good neighbor in the place where those machines are designed, built, and supported.
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