July 7, 2016 — A $1 donation every Friday can certainly add up.Our teams in Marshall and Bloomington, Minnesota, recently reached a major milestone in their Jean Day program, as they have now raised more than $1 million for community organizations and Second Harvest Heartland. The $1 million total includes employee contributions and dollar-for-dollar matches from the company and Schwan’s Corporate Giving Foundation.
“It’s an amazing achievement,” said Community Relations Manager Theresa Zaske. “One dollar at a time, employees have made a big difference for local charitable efforts.”
The Jean Day program is coordinated by a group of employee volunteers who collect donations from employees when they wear jeans on Friday. Although the donations are not mandatory, employees are encouraged to donate $1. The same Schwan team selects the organizations which will benefit from the money raised.
Since launching in Marshall in 1999, the effort has benefited more than 190 charitable programs throughout the Marshall area. The funds raised are donated to organizations that provide basic needs, such as hunger relief. Some groups include food shelves, hospice care and operations serving people in need.
Employees in Bloomington began participating in the program in 2013. Their collections help Second Harvest Heartland, which is affiliated with Feeding America — the leading nonprofit organization working to end hunger in the United States.
The dollar-for-dollar donations by employees were matched by The Schwan Food Company until 2013. Since then, the Schwan’s Corporate Giving Foundation has been responsible for matching the donations from employees.
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