December 30, 2021

What’s BetterLife’s Caring Crew Been up to in 2021?

The BetterLife Caring Crew is an employee-run, leadership-supported committee that strategically plans and organizes ways for all of BetterLife’s employees to engage in their communities.

 

The Caring Crew’s goals are to:

• Engage employees with BetterLife and their community
• Align our corporate giving to our mission and employee desires
• Support our desired culture
• Give employees an appreciation and understanding of what our branches/lodges do
• Provide an opportunity for branding, marketing, and positive public relations for BetterLife

The Caring Crew offers a variety of ways to get involved, including making donations, sponsoring fundraising events, offering volunteer activities to our employees, and hosting supply drives at our Home Office in Madison, WI.

Each year, the Caring Crew creates a plan for community engagement based on results from an all-employee survey. This survey asks employees what causes and organizations they would like to support and what activities they’re interested in participating in. There is a mix of historical and new ways to engage with our community each year.

So far this year, the Caring Crew has made a significant impact in our community and plans to continue that positive presence into the new year! Here are some of the ways that the Caring Crew has engaged with our community.

Volunteer Activities

BetterLife’s Day of Caring

The Caring Crew organized volunteer activity options for employees to participate in for an engaging all-day event: BetterLife’s Day of Caring! This year we supported the Dane County Humane Society, Aldo Leopold Nature Center, and Domestic Abuse Intervention Services.

Meals on Wheels

BetterLife volunteers sign up to participate in the Meals on Wheels program organized by SSM Health at Home throughout the year. This program provides nutritious mid-day meals along with safety checks for residents.

Food Donation Pickup

BetterLife volunteers can sign up to participate in the food donation pickup program organized by the Lussier Community Education Center. Our volunteers pick up the food donations at Whole Foods and bring them back to be distributed at the Lussier Community Education Center.

Donations

BetterLife’s Season of Gratitude

BetterLife’s Caring Crew organized a give-back effort on social media from November 23 through December 20, 2021. Throughout this month-long campaign, we asked our followers to nominate their favorite local organizations to receive donations from BetterLife! The Caring Crew awarded a total of $300 to servers at local Madison, WI restaurants, $250 to a WI volunteer EMS team, $250 to a WI public elementary school, and $250 to a WI non-profit. Check out our Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn pages to see who the lucky winners were! 

Yahara Lake Partner

BetterLife is a Yahara Lake Partner to support the initiatives of the Clean Lakes Alliance. This organization improves and protects the lakes, streams, and wetlands in the Yahara River Watershed. Through community support, advocacy, and education, they are working to restore and preserve our lakes.

Children’s Artwork Tile Project

BetterLife has pledged to support the Children’s Artwork Tile Project by The Rainbow Project, which helps children and families who have experienced trauma in Dane County, WI.

BetterLife’s United Way Campaign

BetterLife’s Caring Crew hosts a week-long event filled with fun activities and ways to raise money for the United Way of Dane County at our Home Office. In addition, BetterLife pledges $10,000 annually to United Way to support a variety of the organizations that they partner with and support. Click here to check out one of our favorite activities from this year. 

Supply Drives

Book and Puzzle Drive

From May through June, the Caring Crew hosted a book and puzzle drive at the BetterLife Home Office with the hopes of creating smiles and good memories for residents at a local assisted living facility.

Toiletry Drive

This drive supported Waunakee Neighborhood Connection, which provides local families with programs and resources to support and empower families in need.

Toys for Tots

This supply drive happens every year during the holidays. It supports the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program that collects new toys to distribute to less fortunate children as Christmas gifts.  

Sponsoring Fundraising Events

The 2nd Annual Diaper Drive Golf Outing

The annual Diaper Drive Golf Outing supports The Village Diaper Bank, an organization with the mission of eradicating the need for diapers to improve the physical, mental, and economic health of the families they serve.

Ben Marcus Memorial Variety Golf Classic

This event supports Variety the Children’s Charity of Wisconsin, an organization dedicated to improving the lives of children with special needs who are underprivileged, at-risk, or critically ill.

BetterLife’s Walk to End Hunger (Madison)

BetterLife’s Walk to End Hunger took place in communities all over the country. The Caring Crew supported the Madison, WI walk, which raised funds for Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin, a local hunger-relief organization. The Madison walk also supported Middleton Outreach Ministry, which brings the community together to create food and housing security through action and advocacy.

Middleton Kids Triathlon

The Middleton Kids Triathlon supports Tri4Schools. This organization provides multi-sport events and programs that empower kids, schools, and communities to be healthy and happy.

Magic PRIDE Festival

Madison’s Magic PRIDE Festival supports Outreach LGBTQ+ Community Center, an organization with a mission and commitment to equity and quality of life for all LGBTQ+ people through community building, health and human services, and economic, social, and racial justice advocacy.

Flannel Fest

Flannel Fest supports the Keep Wisconsin Warm/Cool Fund, a program that keeps the heat and power on for thousands of Wisconsin families in crisis.

Fall 5K

The Fall 5K supports Girls on the Run, an organization that inspires girls to be joyful, healthy, and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum that creatively integrates running.

WAGS Dog Walk

The BetterLife Home Office partnered with Branch 200 to sponsor and take part in the WAGS Dog Walk on September 11. The Wisconsin Academy for Graduate Service Dogs (WAGS) is an organization that provides skilled service dogs to people with disabilities.

Zoo Christmas Lights

Zoo Christmas Lights supports the Henry Vilas Zoo (Madison, WI), which provides animal care and wildlife restoration.  

Other Outreach Efforts

BetterLife’s Caring Crew has supported a variety of other organizations and events in previous years, including Badger Honor Flight, Special Olympics Polar Plunge, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Salvation Army Bell Ringing, Second Harvest Foodbank of Southern Wisconsin’s Adopt a Dairy Cow program, and more!

Stay tuned into our blog and our Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram pages for even more ways that the BetterLife Caring Crew will support our community in the future.