Ritsema consistently pursues a close relationship with the communities in which we are involved. We accomplish this through individual employee involvement in local churches, charities, and schools to our corporate involvement with local non-profit charities, service clubs, and trade association. We encourage and empower employees to share time, treasure, and talent. It is important to us to contribute back to our communities in as many ways as possible.

Ritsema assisted Partners in Compassionate Care, a group of ordinary people committed to bring solutions in a war-torn land, by sending two skilled employees to complete the interior construction of a small hospital in southern Sudan. In 2006, Partners in Compassionate Care began construction of the hospital in an empty grass field alongside a dirt road. God provided them with many volunteers and gracious donors which allowed them to complete Phase I in three short building seasons. Spring 2009, the Memorial Christian Hospital Phase I was dedicated to the people in Southern Sudan.

Ritsema has been involved with Rotary International for at least 20 years. Rotary is a worldwide organization of more than 1.2 million business, professional, and community leaders. Members of Rotary clubs, known as Rotarians, provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. There are 33,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries and geographical areas. Clubs are nonpolitical, nonreligious, and open to all cultures, races, and creeds. As signified by the motto Service Above Self, Rotary’s main objective is service — in the community, in the workplace, and throughout the world.

The Ritsema employee family has been a contributor to the United Way Campaign  for close to 25 years. United Way is a worldwide network in 45 countries and territories, including nearly 1,300 local organizations in the U.S. It advances the common good, creating opportunities for a better life for all, by focusing on the three key building blocks of education, income and health. The United Way movement creates long lasting community change by addressing the underlying causes of problems that prevent progress in these areas. LIVE UNITED is a call to action for everyone to become a part of the change.