& Pope Counties

Corporate Campaign Fun Events - 2006

Tastefully Simple   Tastefully Simple's team members participated in a week long celebration to raise awareness of and support for the Heart of Lakes United Way.  Each year the Tastefully Simple United Way Campaign Committee selects a theme and a quote for the campaign week. Committee was championed by Jennifer Panchenko (Marketing), Doug Prestby (Incentives) and Deb Holmgren (Community Relations). This year the theme was "Someone Like You" and the quote was "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.  It's NOT." - Dr. Seuss.    Below is a sampling of campaign week at Tastefully Simple. I Appreciate You - Members could purchase flowers for a co-worker to let them know how much they are appreciated. Flower Sale - Employees buying flowers for co-workers. Chili Cookoff - Team members setting up to enjoy the gourmet talents of their co-workers. Chili Queen - Jennifer Panchenko holding the Chili Trophy. Each year a new chili pepper is added with the winners name & year. Chili Cook-off Fun - Dawn Jacobs, Linda Baltes and Lynn Swenson. Book Fair - For every book that was sold 10% was designated for United Way. Nickel Wars - Silver coins & paper money were a positive donation to team jars. Co-workers sabatoged jars with pennies. Massages - During break times a massage was $1.00 a minute. All time slots were filled. Tastefully Simple held a Garage Sale with all proceeds going to United Way.  They raised $4,363.05 from the sales.  Tastefully Simple Garage Sale sign Winners of the Tastefully Simple Chili Cook-off were the three co-champions of the United Way Committee: Jennifer Panchenko, Doug Prestby and Deb Holmgren. Tastefully Simple raised $6,884.90  for United Way from their Special Events.    Tastefully Simple team members at the Heart of Lakes United Way Chili Cook-off at Broadway Ballroom.

3M The 3M United Way campaign was held during the month of September.  Events kicked off with a new event for 2006.  A Grilled lunch was offered to all employees.  Grills were fired up and the grill masters stepped up to grill brats and hot dogs for 3M employees.  The menu was a hit and the perfect weather added to the festive feel of the event.  The 3M plant manager was one of the grillers.  He definitely knows his way around a grill.  Grilling and serving times were established across all 3 shifts so everyone had an opportunity to participate. Grill Masters at work. The serving line was long but this only added to the fun of the event. Don and Amanda represented 3M at the local "Rip Roaring 20's" Chili Cook Off at Broadway Ballroom.   They brewed up an exceptional pot of chili and the traveling  "People's Choice Award" went back to 3M for the year.    The trophy is on display until next fall. Don & Amanda at the United Way Chili Feed The traveling "Peoople's Choice Award" is back at 3M for the year. Another event during the fast paced month of September was the Silent Auction.  This event is always interesting as employees show off their talents.  Crafts and fantastic salsa, lasagna lunches, desserts and specially decorated cakes along with many other items are up for bids.  Vendors also participate by making donations to the event.  Silent Auction items on display at 3M. Two final events completed the campaign:  a Paid Day Off raffle won by one of the new employees and a Bake Sale.  Employees donated baked items with all proceeds going towards the final event donations.  These event dollars are over and above the yearly pledge of each employee. Linda Roles and Sheila Gilbertson took time to join them on Pledge Day which is also scheduled across all shifts. Linda Roles joined the 3M Alex United Way Committee members for a celebratory lunch and received the donations from all of the 3M September events along with the Corporate Donation.  The final donation amount was $27,971. Linda Roles, Executive Director of Heart of Lakes United Way presented with check from 3M. Bar chart below shows a good example of how the United Way Campaign awareness and participation has increased for Alexandria 3M plant personnel.  Because of the increased support from personnel, 3M Corporate has increased it's support of the local Heart of Lakes United Way drive. Definitely a Win Win campaign.

Bremer Bank Bremer employees divided into 4 teams and each team had 1 week to put forth their best fundraising efforts.  Each team chose a name for themselves. There were The Untouchables, The Baby Faces, Wisegirls & Goodfellas and JR's Hole in the Vault Gang.   As usual there was lots of good food!  Bremer employees had their own chili feed and display contest.    Some of the fundraising ideas included:       ·          Count the candy in the jar ·          Homemade snack sale ·          BBQ lunch ·          Taco Salad lunch ·          Build your own salad ·          Pay $1.00 and wear tennis shoes ·          Jersey day ·          Extra blue jean Friday  On the Grand Finale night, employees on the planning committee brought something to share in a crock pot and everyone else brought desserts, salads, chips, etc.   The theme was "Game Night."  Tables were each set up with a different game such as Pictionary, big spoons, trivia, dice and Jenga.  Employees broke off in groups of 4-5 and then they had about 15 minutes at each table to play as many "rounds" as they could.  Individuals were awarded points.  At the end prizes were awarded to the top 2 and the person with the least points.  Hot, fresh popcorn was served and footage from past Grand Finales was shown.  It was a fun night and everyone enjoyed themselves. There was also a live auction and a silent auction.  Silent Auction Items on Display Additional Silent Auction Items at Bremer. Bremer employees raised $2,815.27 from their special events.  Total donation from Bremer Bank was $17,701.51.

Echo Press Echo Press held a silent auction this past fall to benefit United Way.  Employees donated all the items to be auctioned. Employees and United Way representatives participated in the bidding.  This 3rd annual event raised over $700.00.   Echo Press Employees busy bidding on Silent Auction items A sampling of the many Silent Auction items at Echo Press Employees also raised money for United Way by donating a dollar for each Friday that they wore blue jeans. A total of $1,184.00 was raised from special events.  The Echo Press donated vacation time to those employees that increased their giving by more than $52 year.   Total participation by Echo Press employees was 56% and they increased their giving by more than 33%.

Viking Savings Viking Savings Association began the summer with Casual Fun Fridays to raise funds for the Heart of Lakes United Way.  Employees could wear their Viking Savings Association logo attire with a nice pair of jeans if they paid a dollar.  This campaign lasted until the last Friday in October and raised over $450.00. The next campaign was a Silent Auction which Included baked goodies, glass pitcher and tumbler set, an under the cabinet CD player, a gorgeous necklace and some stamped Christmas and all occasion cards.  This campaign raised over $300.00. Their most recent campaign was a 1/4 or 1/2 day off from work. Employees could pay $10.00 to receive a 1/4 day off or $20.00 to receive a 1/2 day off.  This campaign began in October and continued through November.  Employees loved this as they could take 1/2 day off to go Christmas shopping or spend the time with their family and friends.  $425.00 was raised for the Heart of Lakes United Way. Viking Savings Association still has more campaigns they will organize for the New Year to continue to raise funds for the Heart of Lakes United Way.  Their goal is to double the total pledges/dollars raised in the New Year.  Thanks to the employees of Viking Savings Association for making these campaigns successful.

ITW Heartland ITW Heartland started their United Way campaign this year with a Pizza Kick-off at noon on Monday.  For $5.00 you could have your fill of pizza plus get your name put in a raffle for $100 in Chamber Bucks. Sorry only 1 ticket per employee.     Tuesday was designated Purple Pride Day.  Employees wore something purple or any color of choice to support their favorite team.  Contests and games took place at each building with a watermelon feed during the afternoon break.  Bidding on Silent Auction items began at noon also.   What an array of Silent Auction items to bid on. Wednesday was the end of the bidding on the Silent Auction items and during the afternoon break employees could build their own ice cream sundae.   A total of $2,613.00 was raised for United Way from the Silent Auction.  On Thursday everyone enjoyed a chili feed/pot luck.  Employees brought chili, a dish to pass or a $5.00 donation to participate.    ITW Employees enjoying the chili feed/potluck. Two lucky employees who had already contributed $52.00 to United Way during the week were eligible for a drawing to win a round of golf with green fees paid And the lucky winner to enjoy a game of golf is??. ITW Heartland employees raised a total of $7,126 from Special Events.  Tim Hillesheim was the lucky man who won the chili feed contest at ITW Heartland.  As a result he got a day off from work and the privilege to participate in  the United Way Chili Cook-off at Broadway Ballroom.

Friday, December 1, 2006 - Echo Press Unicel employees donate record contribution to United Way Unicel employees designated an entire week to United Way fund raising and surpassed all previous contribution records while having some fun. At the end of October, an employee committee sponsored a week of activities to build awareness of the Douglas County United Way and all of the organizations it supports through local giving. Proceeds from “Penny Wars,” a popcorn stand and pizza and pop lunch all went directly to United Way. In addition, employees could dress casually every day by paying $5 to benefit United Way. United Way Director Linda Roles gave several presentations during the week at Unicel to give employees the opportunity to learn about United Way. “Unicel’s efforts resulted in a huge increase in giving from last year,” said Roles. “Every donation, no matter what size, adds to the capacity of United Way. We appreciate Unicel’s donation of over $28,000 and thank them for their generosity. Our business partners are essential to the work that United Way does in the community,” United Way estimates that at some point in their life, one in four Douglas County residents will utilize one of the services that United Way helps to support. “Our employees were very generous in their participation and pledges this year,” said Bill Finley, United Way board member and Unicel vice president. “We are proud to be able to support the community through United Way.”

Click here to see 2005 Corporate Campaign Fun                     Click here to see 2004 Corporate Campaign Fun Click here to see 2003 Corporate Campaign Fun

Website updated Thursday November 01, 2007 12:45 PM

Email the Webmaster with questions or comments about this Web site.