Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/222066
UPFRONT connections By Amy Spreeman Holiday spirit c ourt e s y of S e c ur a New North businesses step up to help those in need Secura associates Sam Benjamin and Brian Guender, and their wives, Stef and Laura (left to right), give toys to children at Children's Hospital last year in Milwaukee. T he spirit of kindness and giving is permeating hearts throughout the New North, as companies large and small ring bells, wrap gifts, serve food and meet basic needs of financially strapped neighbors in Northeast Wisconsin. The wave of compassion typically swells in midNovember and will continue to build momentum through the New Year. A number of corporations are tag-teaming bell-ringing efforts through the Salvation Army's Red Kettle campaign, which helps provide Christmas dinners to people in hospitals and nursing homes and clothing and toys for families in need. Among the many holiday projects 18 | Insight • D e c e m b e r 2 013 inspired by Thrivent Financial employees, two in particular stand out. The company's one-day matching gift event to the Salvation Army is Friday, Dec. 6, when Thrivent puts up a $125,000 Red Kettle Match. Since the partnership began a decade ago, the event has raised more than $2.2 million to help local families in need. Secondly, the company's "12 Days of Christmas" campaign gives employees a chance to spread their generosity among 12 local nonprofit organizations for each of the first 12 working days of December. Each agency comes up with a list of muchneeded items, and Thrivent Financial employees hit the stores. "Employees take the lists with them as they do their Christmas shopping, and we gather the presents under a Christmas tree to highlight the generosity of Thrivent's employees," says Jenni Eickelberg, senior community relations specialist for Thrivent. "Employee teams then get to deliver the items to one of the agencies that they've adopted." On Black Friday, the biggest bell-ringing weekend of the season, Associated Bank contributed a $10,000 Kettle Match to help the Salvation Army of Brown County during its 2013 campaign. The Greater Green Bay Community Foundation is teaming up with Press-Gazette Media, the J.J. Keller Foundation, Express Convenience Centers and local credit unions to raise money for food pantries in Brown, Door, Kewaunee and Oconto counties. For Secura in Appleton, community giving and serving has long been a core principle for the company. Last month, Secura received an Outstanding Corporation Award from the Northeast Wisconsin Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. "Community involvement is ingrained in our culture so we're active all year long, but we tend to get especially inspired by the spirit of the holidays," says Secura's marketing vice president Jean Van Den Brandt, who points to the teams and departments w w w. i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m