Our community engagement program helps our whole team give back to people in places where we live and work
Last month, I found myself in a warehouse sorting onions. That’s not exactly what you'd expect from a fiber optics professional on a typical Tuesday. But there I was, alongside a dozen colleagues from Clearfield’s production, front office, and warehouse teams.
Our group scooped onions into buckets, tossed bad ones into compost bins, and filled bags on a scale until each one hit 40 pounds. In all, we packed 268 bags for Second Harvest Heartland to help feed families across Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
It wasn't exactly glamorous work. But it was a meaningful moment in my time at Clearfield. And it reminded me exactly why we started Clearfield Cares.
Giving back to all our communities
At Clearfield, we talk a lot about enabling the lifestyle that better broadband provides. That means our work helps people connect — to opportunity, to each other, to the things that matter most in their lives. That mission doesn't stop at the edge of our network deployments.
Community, to us, means the neighborhoods surrounding our Minneapolis headquarters. It means the cities and towns where our employees live and raise their families. And it means the customers and communities where our technologies are put to work every day. Being present in those places — not just commercially, but as people who genuinely care — is part of who we are.
When I joined Clearfield, one of the things that struck me most was how grounded the organization was. Employees already volunteered together, helped each other outside of work, and spent time together by choice. That said something real about the culture here. My thought was simple: if we could further organize that energy, we could amplify the impact.
A platform for people who care
Founded in 2025, Clearfield Cares is more than a community outreach committee; it’s a platform designed to bring employees together and make it easier to participate in meaningful ways. One of the things I value most about it is what happens internally when we volunteer as a team.
Think about a company like ours, with people in production, warehousing, engineering, sales, marketing, and administration. Day to day, those worlds don't always overlap. But when you're volunteering side by side to benefit a community partner, you get to know people you might not talk to every day. Those connections make us a stronger team.
To further support our people in giving back, Clearfield introduced a Volunteer Time Off (VTO) program in 2025. Every Clearfield employee is eligible for up to eight hours of paid time off each calendar year to support the causes and communities that matter to them. It's a way of saying: we don't just encourage this — we invest in it.
Preparing for the work ahead
As Clearfield Cares grows, we want to expand the ways employees can participate — from team-building activities that help people connect with one another, to more specialized initiatives like our Tribal Broadband Training Program, which ties our community investment directly to our mission of bringing connectivity to underserved areas.
Since launching Clearfield Cares, I’ve been incredibly proud of the impact our team has made in such a short time. Together, we’ve donated 316 pounds of food to PRISM, helping support Twin Cities neighbors in need. We also delivered 120 teacher-supply backpacks to Kids In Need Foundation, equipping students and classrooms with the tools they need to succeed. And we had the privilege of welcoming the future leaders of our community during our “Bring Your Child to Work Day,” opening our doors and sharing what we do.
The onion-packing event at Second Harvest is the latest chapter in that story — but certainly not the last. For our part, Clearfield will keep showing up, and we’ll continue to care.
Want to learn more about how Clearfield gives back? Tell Clearfield how we can help.
Clearfield’s Chief Commercial Officer, Anis Khemakhem, is deeply passionate about technology, particularly in advancing fiber optics and telecommunications solutions. Throughout his career, he has consistently focused on leveraging cutting-edge technology to improve connectivity and enhance digital access across various sectors. His executive experience - including leadership positions at Clearfield, Amphenol and Carlisle Interconnect Technologies - demonstrates his executive engagement capabilities and capacity to handle complex, multi-stakeholder projects.
