SCHOFIELD, Wis. — Greenheck Group team members raised $28,000 in one month to help fight hunger in communities across the country.
The campaign, organized by the Greenheck Group Women’s Network, was initiated as a way to continue to live the company’s values during the pandemic when, according to The Brookings Institution, it is estimated food insecurity in the U.S. has increased to as many as one in five households.
“We are a group of people who love to volunteer and help fill the need within our communities,” said Amanda Irwin, senior financial analyst and treasurer of the Greenheck Group Women’s Network. “This fundraising campaign was a way for our employees to join together and make an impact while COVID-19 social distancing guidelines are in place.”
Each of the seven states in which Greenheck Group is located chose a nonprofit specific to the area. In Wisconsin, the team chose to support The Neighbors’ Place, which provides a food pantry to residents of Marathon County.
“It makes us proud to have the support of a local organization like Greenheck Group, which has been extremely philanthropic with their time and talent,” said Donna Ambrose, executive director, Neighbor’s Place. “Anytime we receive monetary gifts, because we are a nonprofit, we can use those funds to go further.”
Other organizations benefiting from the campaign include:
• California – Sacramento Food Bank and Family Services;
• Kentucky – Emergency Community Food Pantry of Franklin County;
• Minnesota – Feed My Starving Children;
• North Carolina – Cleveland County Nutrition Council, Lunchbox Ministries;
• Oklahoma – Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma; and
• Tennessee – Golden Age Senior Citizens Center.
“Our team members across the country never hesitate to join together to accomplish extraordinary things,” said Jim McIntyre, CEO, Greenheck Group. “When the pandemic started, many of our team members began organizing alternative ways to continue outreach into our communities. With a lot of research and thoughtful consideration, our Women’s Network put forth the idea to lead a hunger awareness campaign across all of our locations.”
Greenheck Group team members raised money through a variety of department- and management-level challenges that included company leaders creating fun, and sometimes embarrassing, videos to reward employees for their contributions.
“The videos really helped drive engagement,” said Emily Vigil, application engineer and member of Greenheck Group Women’s Network. “One of our production supervisors did 50 burpees right on the shop floor, and our director of finance ate a can of spam.”
The employee fundraising campaign was open during the month of June but will stay open through July 10 to allow teams to finalize any last-minute donations.
“Over the past month I’ve been reminded why I love being part of the Greenheck Group,” said Irwin. “I’ve seen first-hand how our team members go out of their way to help others simply because it’s the right thing to do.”
For more information, visit www.greenheck.com.
