On Saturday, September 5, we celebrate International Day of Charity.  This celebration began in Hungary to commemorate Mother Theresa’s death in 1997. It was declared an international holiday by the UN in 2012, honoring Mother Theresa’s years of service to the poor and suffering.  According to NationalToday.com, “overall, the day reminds us that simple acts of charity can alleviate the worst effects of humanitarian crisis and create more inclusive and resilient societies.”

I’ve been lucky in my professional career to work for organizations that understand the value of doing something good for others.  Whether that good meant a donation of:

• Cash
• School supplies for under privileged children
• Pajamas for children in hospitals
• Blood drives for people in need
• A soup bowl passed across a counter to a homeless person, or
• An exhilarating jump into a frozen lake.

No matter how we’ve donated, we’ve been able to make an impact because we’re working together.  Not to say that a single donation doesn’t make a difference, but when we work together and make charity a natural part of our company culture, giving is easier.

At PMG, we have greater access to the opportunity of giving because our leadership has such generous hearts. As more and more people get involved, our gifts get bigger, every single time.  For that one person who can only afford to donate $5, it easily turns into $500 or $2,000 because no gift is too small.

A few fun facts about giving according to NationalToday.com:

• Historically, we give more in the month of December
• Australia is the most charitable county on Earth
• Women are more likely to give than men
• On average, a US donor is 62 years of age

No matter the facts or where you fall in those statistics, experience the joy of doing something good for someone else.  You’ll feel amazing afterwards.

Want to read more about PMG’s recent charitable initiatives? Read about our involvement with FamilyWise, KINMN, Sweet Dreams for Kids and the Polar Plunge.

Beth Bangtson, HR Manager

While PMG chooses a charitable organization each quarter to donate either time or money to, the fourth quarter initiative felt extra special this year.  It could simply be that it is the holiday season and everyone seems a little more generous this time of year.  Maybe, as a mom, I can empathize with the struggle so many parents face.  Perhaps, it’s that FamilyWise provided us with the names and ages of each family member we adopted, and we got to know them a little bit by viewing their wish list and seeing what they wanted under their Christmas tree.

With the generosity of PMG employees and an incredibly generous anonymous donor, we raised over $3,300 in donated gifts and financial donations.  We purchased EVERYTHING our 19 family members asked for and donated $767 to FamilyWise to help other families in need of assistance this time of year.

This season, FamilyWise sponsored 150 families in their Adopt-a-Family program – a total of 600 individuals benefited!

We are so grateful that we were able to bless our three adopted families with gifts this holiday season.

Happy Holidays to each and every one of you!

To learn more about FamilyWise, visit their website at http://familywiseservices.org/

Beth Bangtson, HR Manager

Spreading Joy this Holiday Season

‘Giving is not just about making a donation.  It is about making a difference.’

~ Kathy Calvin, President & CEO of the United Nations Foundation

Each quarter, PMG Employees make it our purpose to do our part in this crazy world we live in and do something good for someone in need.  Each quarter feels a little different to everyone, depending on where you’ve been and what you’ve seen in your life.

Our Year in Review

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In Q1 this year, a team of 12 of us threw on our most ridiculous onesie pajama’s and jumped into a frozen lake to support Special Olympics of Minnesota.  My interest in Special Olympics stems back to my early childhood, when my best friends’ brother, Jeffie, was a participant.  In high school, I volunteered at a Special Olympics camp held at Iowa State University, and helped Olympians practice their desired sports, cheered them on, and just let them be them for a few days – no judgement, no second glances, no questions!

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For Q2, we partnered with a local mom who created a non-profit (Sweet Dreams for Kids) after her youngest daughter was born with cancer and spent the next several years in and out of hospitals.  We purchased pajamas and donated them to kids in hospitals, giving them an opportunity to feel a little bit more like a normal kid during a time of uncertainty, fear, discomfort, and what I can only imagine, unbelievable hopefulness.  As a mother myself, my gratitude for my kids’ health cannot be put into words.  I’m thankful every single day for their health, their comfort, and the incredible hope that they will never have to experience such uncertainty and fear.

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Recently, Q3 nicely coincided with the start of the school year. We joined forces with Kids in Need Minnesota to not only stock them up with all the school supplies Minnesota children should need, but 18 of us also donated two hours of our time to pack 1,231 backpacks for those same children.  Remembering back to my early school years, my parents lived paycheck to paycheck. I remember not having the best of school supplies (often handed down from one of my older sisters).  It might sound silly, but the difference between brand-named crayons and generic crayons really did make a difference to a child.  I remember that feeling of dread and embarrassment so vividly and I vowed to never allow my kids to have that same unnecessary shame, no matter how immaterial that sounds.

FamilyWise

To close out the calendar year, we are teaming up with an organization called FamilyWise, whose mission is ‘strengthening families by promoting the safety, stability, and well-being of children.’  Through their Adopt-A-Family program, we have adopted three families this holiday season:

• We have an 18-year-old woman who just went back to school this fall and is expecting a child in early 2020. She currently lives with her mother and four younger siblings.
• Then, we have twin sisters in their mid-20’s who have five children between them and are looking forward to purchasing a home in 2020.
• Finally, we have a young mother of four who just moved to Minnesota to be closer to family. They will be experiencing their first Minnesota winter (starting this week if the weather man has it right).

For each of these families, I choked up going through their wish lists.  While there is the sporadic request for a board game, slime making kit, or some sort of electronic device, the majority of their requests are basic human necessities: socks, personal hygiene supplies, warm winter mittens, hats, and boots.

I’m honored to share, that through an anonymous donation, we will easily be able to purchase everything on their wish lists and more.  Knowing that 19 women, boys, and girls will be smiling from ear to ear on Christmas morning is a gift in and of itself, and knowing that I have some little part in that is so incredibly fulfilling.

Working for a company whose mission is literally to help people on a daily basis, these special little side projects are so rewarding.  I hope you’ll take a moment this holiday season to think about someone less fortunate than you, and without putting thought into how they got to where they are or passing judgement on their situation, just consider doing something good, something that will make a difference.

Wishing you and your loved ones a safe and happy holiday season!

If you’re interested in learning more about FamilyWise, check out their website at www.familywiseservices.org

Beth Bangtson, HR Manager

On August 1, PMG partnered with a non-profit organization called Kids in Need Minnesota (KINMN) to help support their annual 24 Hours to Empower event.  KINMN’s mission is to ensure that every child is prepared to learn and succeed in the classroom by providing free school supplies to students most in need. This was PMG’s second year donating time and supplies to the cause.

To learn more about PMG’s first year supporting KINMN’s cause, click here.

The Competition

To prepare for the 24 Hours to Empower event, PMG divided its corporate employees into three teams: Team Rock, Team Paper, & Team Scissors.  We had two weeks to see which team could collect the most backpacks, notebooks, highlighters, glue sticks, crayons, and pencils – each item having a specific points value attributed to it. As a competitive group of people, we quickly accepted the challenge and got to work.

Donations for KINMN

Through social media fundraising, requests for donations from vendors, and personal donations, we were able to collect:

• 81 boxes of 24 count Crayola crayons
• 387 Elmer’s glue sticks
• 31 bottles of Elmer’s glue
• 894 #2 pencils
• 1,249 highlighters
• 158 notebooks
• 416 backpacks
• $2,846.62 in cash

For a total fundraising effort of $11,549.54

Final Team Scores

• 31,870 points – Team Rock
• 135,022 points – Team Paper
• 55,625 points – Team Scissors

TEAM PAPER FOR THE WIN!

The Real Winners

The real winners are the 7,309 students who will have the school supplies they need to completely rock this school year following the 24 Hours to Empower event!  Kudos to the KINMN organization for hosting a well-organized event and a HUGE THANKS to our PMG team for stepping in and helping out where it’s needed the most.

For more information about KINMN, visit their website at https://www.kidsinneedmn.org/.

For our 2^nd Quarter Charitable Initiative, PMG partnered with a non-profit located here in the Twin Cities called Sweet Dreams for Kids.  Sweet Dreams for Kids is dedicated to bringing smiles to the faces of hospitalized children across the country by collecting and donating pajamas – taking the ‘ick’ out of sick!

When Dalya was born with cancer 14 years ago, her mother Wendy knew she had to do something, and thus, Sweet Dreams for Kids was born.  Due to the incredible generosity of PMG employers and a couple of anonymous donors, we were able to present Wendy & Dalya with 100 pairs of new pajamas plus $540 to help purchase more pajamas, assist with shipping expenses, and help pay for their storage facility.  What an amazing organization!

If you’d like to learn more about Sweet Dreams for Kids, click here to view their Facebook page.

Every year, across snow-country in America, do-gooders and thrill-seekers choose to jump into freezing water to warm hearts. If you’re thinking that sounds crazy, you’re right! It is crazy fun and called the Polar Plunge.

This year, in 21 communities across Minnesota, volunteers from law enforcement agencies, emergency medical services, and fire departments will erect warming tents, inflate giant polar bear balloons, and cut holes in ice thick enough to hold a small city of spectators and volunteers in preparation for their Polar Plunge events to support Special Olympics Minnesota. All that just so more than 11,000 well-intention weirdos can don wigs, tutus, and adult onesies as they jump into a few of our 10,000 lakes in order to raise more than $2 million dollars statewide.

“The plunge is a most gratifying experience. It’s an event for all ages and stages; for those who are looking to stretch their ‘norm’ and do so for a cause. My favorite part of the plunge is walking off the shuttle to a welcoming line of people I’ve never met before, but who are willing to high-five me and encourage me in my efforts for the day. I sense community when I’m at the plunge,” said Kim, PMG TST member.

For the second year in a row, PMG chose to support Special Olympics Minnesota for its Q1 charitable initiative by forming a plunge team and raising funds. The 2.0 version of Team PMG almost doubled its total plunger count (from 7 to 12 PMG-ers) and more than quadrupled its funds raised (from just under $1200 in 2018 to just over $5100 this year). All donations supported the Plunge event held at Prior Lake on February 16, 2019. Money was donated by friends, family, coworkers, partners, and client companies. These efforts led to Team PMG ranking as the top fundraiser among small businesses, top three among corporations of any size, and number seven overall from all donor entities combined for Prior Lake’s Plunge event. PMG is still currently in the top 10 Small Corporation Fundraisers which consists of participants for all 21 plunge events statewide!

“I love the idea of being able to give this gift to children,” said Emily, PMG intern. “As a college student, I would like to give back more, but I do not have a ton of free time or funds to donate. The polar plunge is awesome because this year, I raised $350 just by sharing on Facebook and other networks. I sacrificed maybe an hour of my time for the jump and froze for five minutes… so worth it knowing what that does for the kids.”

To put those numbers in proper perspective, $5000 can help start 10 new Special Olympic delegations across Minnesota, feed 1000 athletes at a state competition, start 20 new respect campaigns in local schools, or fully sponsor 2.5 Minnesota SO athletes for the USA Special Olympics Games.  Those amazing results, and the fun had achieving them, are just a couple of the reasons why it is easy, as an employee, to be proud of PMG.

Justin W., PMG CST member and first time plunger said, “Getting cold for a great cause never hurt anyone. It’s really cool that PMG backed those within the company that plunged and provided so much support for the cause.”

In an ever-changing employment market that is drawing from an ever-shrinking talent pool, it is worth mentioning that millennial and subsequent generations now entering the workforce are almost unanimously cited as claiming that increased opportunities to give back to their communities and build engagement in their workplaces are as important (if not more so) to them than pure compensation and benefits. To put it plainly, younger workers want to work for companies that care.

“I think it’s awesome that PMG is willing to put so much time and resources in to the Plunge,” said Emily. “The Special Olympics of MN is a great cause. In school, we learn a lot about corporate responsibility and PMG is a great example of it. By sponsoring/donating, it shows that PMG cares about so much more than just generating a profit.”

If you’re looking for ways to make your younger workers inclined to feel the same about your company, maybe you should consider doing something crazy next year and take The Plunge!

PMG makes it a top priority to give back to the community whenever possible. At least once per quarter, the PMG team picks a foundation that we can support. In July, PMG is raising money and school supplies to donate to Twin Cities Kids in Need Resource Center (TCKINRC).

TCKINRC provides students in need with the essential school supplies needed to promote learning and excellence in the classroom. The Kids in Need Foundation works with schools facing high poverty rates in St. Paul and Minneapolis by providing eligible teachers the opportunity to select supplies at their free store.

Last year alone, the Kids in Need Foundation helped 200,000 teachers and 6.2 million students! In its 23 years of operation, it has distributed more than $900 million in school supplies to kids who would otherwise go without. PMG is proud to support such an amazing organization. If you are also interested in offering support, visit their website to learn more!