Employee Spotlight: United Way Campaign Committee Breaks Fundraising Record
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A proud supporter of our community, PreventionGenetics believes in the importance of giving back. Annually we host a company United Way Campaign with the goal of raising money and awareness for Marshfield Area United Way, which supports individuals in our area most in need. PreventionGenetics began hosting its United Way Campaign over 10 years ago, and is proud to have seen continued growth with employee engagement and funds raised each year.
While in the past, almost all activities were done in person - an employee pizza party, raffle baskets, silent auction, family movie night, potluck, etc., like many events, our annual campaign was affected by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Hosting in-person events simply did not meet our COVID-19 safety guidelines. This required our 2020 campaign coordinators to reevaluate the whole campaign. “The 'virtual' aspect of this year's campaign was thought about and planned for with every event. We tried to keep an open mind and be creative in finding ways around the hurdles,” said Michelle Apsey, one of our event coordinators. “We wanted to keep some of the 'tried and true' events from the past, but also come up with some new activities.”
In addition to our campaign’s staple events (i.e. raffle baskets, bingo, silent auction, and a 50/50 raffle) converting to a digital format, the United Way Campaign coordinators added some new virtual activities, including: a scavenger hunt, create-your-own meme contest, baking class, and margarita night. Even though events were not in-person, engagement did not suffer. In fact, our team raised over $20,000 ? $4,000 more than our original goal!
“The pandemic has been difficult for everyone, and it is an especially important time to support the community outreach programs for those hit the hardest. It was so nice to see everyone work together and have some fun while benefiting the community,” noted Katie Schwobe, another event coordinator. With Amanda Anderson adding, “The United Way Campaign is always a lot of fun, and it's a great feeling to get people engaged in something that benefits our community. I am very proud of being part of this year's campaign.”
Our 2020 United Way campaign organizers consisted of seven individuals. Meet the team:
Amanda Anderson
Research & Development Technician II
Beth Haffenbredl
Lab Technician
Brandon Herr
Regional Account Representative
Katie Schwobe
Genetic Counseling Assistant
Michelle Apsey
Accounting Associate II
Stephi Dickinson
Genetic Counseling Assistant
Sydney Bruggeman
Genetic Counseling Assistant
Beyond our annual campaign, many individual employees support United Way through initiatives such as helping pack meals for the NOW program, participating in the backpack and school supply drive, and the Christmas adopt-a-family. In fact, this year’s 50/50 raffle winner used the winnings to adopt a local family. We’re pleased to see so many members of our team come together to support our community.