Community Builders: KA Has Heart Program Teams Employees with Charity Partners
By Brenden Nickels
Brenden is a blogger and senior office assistant at Kraus-Anderson headquarters.
Here at Kraus-Anderson, we’re proud to not only serve our clients and our subcontractors, we’re also proud to serve the community that we live in and work with by having a volunteering program. We call it “KA Has Heart,” and what we do is we allow our employees to take paid time off to volunteer at certain charities during the day.
Charity partners nominated by KA employees
Pictured Below: KA Has Heart Participants at the MS Walk.
Each January, we choose a number of charities to volunteer at based on employee recommendations. In 2020, KA Has Heart will be volunteering at Feed My Starving Children, The Food Group, House of Charity, Open Arms of Minnesota, Toys for Tots, and the MS Society.
Giving while having fun
“Our KA Has Heart program has received a lot of positive feedback from new employees when I share with them our outreach efforts,” said Diane Toll, KA’s Director of Human Resources. “I find that it means a lot to our employees, both new and existing, that we are giving back and making a positive impact towards the selected charities we participated in. It is also a great way for employees to interact and have FUN together giving back to our local community with coworkers across other departments at KA.”
“It is a great way for employees to interact and have FUN together giving back to our local community”
A first time volunteer’s experience
Pictured below: KA Has Heart participants at the Toys for Tots distribution warehouse.
I, myself, did KA Has Heart for the first time last December, when I sorted out donations for Toys for Tots. This was an entirely new experience for me, since I had rarely volunteered for anything in my life before. What we did is we had the large pile of toys and our job was to divide them all by gender and by age. There were also piles to store small toys, clothes, and toiletries (like makeup kits, for instance). It was an enjoyable experience for me, and I’m sure I can probably do it again next holiday season.
Hearts and Hammers home improvement
Another charity that we team up with every summer is Hearts and Hammers. On the first Saturday of June, KA employees volunteer to landscape, paint and refurbish a home owned by a person who has a disability, is elderly, and/or is a veteran who needs this kind of help. We have been collaborating with this organization for more than two decades.
Pictured above: KA Has Heart packs meals at Feed My Starving Children.
As a company that has a reputation for service, whether it’s building a hospital, or participating in the MS Walk, KA is committed to maintaining that reputation. It’s just another way that makes those who work here be proud of the company that they work for.
KA Has Heart a huge success
“It has been a huge success and we really appreciate the efforts of those who have had the opportunity to participate in this wonderful program.” Toll adds. “We have had a number of departments use it as an opportunity for some team building too!”
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