The impulse to give is always strong at MI, but it’s especially elevated around the holidays. This year, despite the challenges of COVID-19, the MI Foundation has worked hard to give back to people and organizations in our communities.
One of the setbacks caused by the pandemic actually led to our initial charitable action of the holiday season. The MI Foundation’s annual Charitable Golf Outing had to be rescheduled from June to October, becoming a virtual event in the process. As part of the event’s online festivities, $100,000 was donated to food banks across the country to support a total of 600,000 meals for members of our local communities this holiday season.
“The virtual event was a huge success,” said Foundation Specialist Gwen Mallon. “It’s wonderful that we were able to use proceeds from our golf event to feed hundreds of thousands of people.”
Donations were made to 10 food banks nationwide—each serving the community local to our manufacturing facilities. At our facility located in Flower Mound, Texas, the money was donated to Christian Community Action, located in nearby Lewisville. CCA’s Chairman of the Board, Tracy Scott Miller, sent a letter thanking MI for its generosity.
“I wanted to express my deepest appreciation and gratitude for the partnership and generosity of your company and your employees,” Miller wrote. “As the largest non-profit in Denton County and the largest direct provider of social services in North Texas, we would not be able to provide the breadth of services we do if it weren’t for the significant partnership with partners like MI Windows.”
Outreach Committees at our Milgard locations contributed to food banks in their communities as well. In Tacoma, Milgard presented its $10,000 check to the Tacoma Rescue Mission. Milgard team members have a long tradition of volunteering time and donating money to the Tacoma Rescue Mission, an organization that provides emergency services to community members in need.
“We were so pleased to present this donation to the Tacoma Rescue Mission,” said Tim Large, Milgard Pricing Manager and MI Foundation Outreach Committee member. “We know that this money will go a long way towards supporting our local community.”
In addition to the meal funding, we also helped to care for the children of our local communities by organizing toy and coat drives. In Prescott Valley, Ariz., the MI Foundation Outreach team contributed to an “Angel Tree.” They also sponsored the “Shop With a Cop” program – in which local law-enforcement officers take a child shopping – and held a clothing drive for local schools.
Our Pennsylvania teams orchestrated a similar giving program, raising $3,000 to aid families in Dauphin County. The money was used to purchase toys and winter coats, which were then donated to the Upper Dauphin Human Services Center in Lykens for distribution.
“I’m grateful that we were able to take part in supporting our local communities again this year,” Mallon said. “Due to COVID-19, there are many, many people in need. Helping these families have a happy holiday season is very important to us.”
The pandemic has indeed added to the difficulties of those in need. That’s why the MI Charitable Foundation is proud to do our part in supporting our local communities, as well as continuing to support veterans, cancer research, and children’s well-being. For this, we are extremely grateful to our team members and Foundation partners. Thank you for all that you do, and let’s strive to accomplish even more in 2021.