The story
Darrell Jobe has had more than a few large ambitions in his life: to turn things around after dropping out of school and becoming a teenage gang member; to break a pattern of juvenile detention and spending time in jail; and to build a company that gives a hand-up to other ex-cons, while saving the environment at the same time.
It may seem like a lot, but Jobe, founder and CEO of Vericool®, has accomplished all of the above – and shows no signs of slowing down.
The company’s Vericoolers™ provide an alternative to less-environmentally sensitive packaging by using renewable and recycled materials – both post-consumer and post-industrial – which are recyclable or compostable. Currently sold to other businesses, according to Jobe, retail sales are planned soon.
As proud as this self-taught engineer is of his product, Jobe is prouder to offer those affected by incarceration, drugs, abuse or hard times an opportunity at a better life through employment at Vericool. Nearly 30% of Vericool’s workforce is made up of former inmates. Jobe offers them a job, a stock option plan, an opportunity to expand their skills and the dignity denied to so many ex-convicts.
On top of that, Vericool provides Christmas for multiple single-parent families in Richmond, California – where Jobe grew up.
And, in 2019, that’s where he spent the charitable donation Insperity provided him when the corporation honored Vericool through the Community Heroes initiative.
Community impact
“[The Community Heroes recognition] is an honor that I’m really appreciative of,” Jobe said. “Insperity stands out because they’ve stepped up and really put thought into honoring Vericool. The people who truly deserve this are our employees. They’re my heroes. The fact that Insperity is honoring them, that the team is enthusiastic about this and actually sitting down to share food with us is extremely important to everyone.”
“The people who truly deserve this [recognition] are our employees. They’re my heroes.”
Darrell Jobe
Leslie Errington, Vericool’s former vice president of marketing, agreed. “The fact that Insperity is honoring our whole team makes them feel really special, and it really matters,” he said. “This recognition will hopefully drive more companies to give back.”
Under Vericool’s direction, Insperity’s donation provided full and complete Christmas dinners to 75 families.
“I believe in giving back, and for Insperity to make a donation like this on our behalf, well, no one else has come close to that,” Jobe said. “I don’t think of myself as worthy of much, but [Insperity’s] honor touches a lot of people who are worthy. I just really want to make sure that everyone on the Insperity team knows how appreciative we all are of being named a Community Hero.”
Jobe said he values the relationship with Insperity for the “one-stop shop” function that Insperity provides through its full-service HR solution. “It allows us to build on an infrastructure that most small or even medium-sized businesses don’t have the resources to provide.”
And Insperity is proud to provide support to Jobe and his Vericool employees, people whose values closely align with its own.