PLM’s 2018 United Way Giving Shatters Records
By Genevieve Ventiere, Senior Underwriter
At the end of yet another banner year for charitable giving at Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company, we reflect with gratitude on the spirit of giving embodied by our generous employees here at PLM.
Each year, PLM partners with the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey to launch a month-long Employee Giving campaign. This campaign invites all employees to make a pledge to donate through each employee’s local United Way to either a charity of his or her choosing, or directly to United Way to help the organization continue to make a difference in communities throughout the country. This year’s campaign results were nothing short of remarkable, with 147 employees, or 99 percent of PLM’s workforce, participating.
Our campaign, which ran from September 24 to October 19, featured a kick-off event and some great campaign activities aimed at teambuilding through our charitable endeavors while raising some extra dollars outside of employee pledges. One of our activities allowed our employees to share why they chose to give to the organizations they do, highlighting some worthy organizations, and allowing colleagues to get to know one another on a deeper level. We got some profoundly inspiring responses, a few of which we’d love to share again.
You may just be the fire that ignites a child’s desire to pursue an education and career that may have not been possible. That is why I give to the Center for Leadership Development. The program prepares children to succeed, finish and become employed in the career of their choosing and finally to reach back and help others.
Tonya Burroughs, Regulatory Compliance
Ronald McDonald House does so much for the families of the children in the hospital. It not only provides them with a bed to sleep in, but also provides them with a kitchen to prepare meals and a place to go and decompress from the pressures and stress they are under while going through their child’s journey.
Lisa Bragg, Policy Service
I love the idea of inspiring children to love reading as much as I do with First Book of Philadelphia. Also, I am able to read as much as I do because of our wonderful city library. I’m happy to be able to help contribute so that others can benefit from the Free Library of Philadelphia.
Michelle Revelle, Marketing
Many PLM employees also donated their time during our campaign. Two of our field groups, including our Business Development Reps from our Western region, and our entire Loss Control team, came from across the country to volunteer their time at United Way’s Philadelphia corporate office. Between these two groups, PLM employees packed over 400 kits of personal care items that were delivered to Outley House, a homeless shelter and Client Services organization, headquartered in Philadelphia, housing up to 260 homeless men at a time, and giving them access to support services and facilities.
The summation of our company’s efforts is staggering for a fairly small organization. This year, our donors gave to 160 different organizations. We had nineteen employees give at a Leadership Level, or $1,000 or more. Our average pledge amount was $416 per employee, and as an organization, we raised $61,141 before corporate matching. Once corporate contributions and campaign fundraising are included, the total more than doubles to over $146,000. Because of the tireless work and leadership of the PLM United Way committee, we were able to raise $18,664 (including corporate matching and fundraising) above and beyond last year’s total, thus setting a new PLM record.
We are incredibly proud of our colleagues at Pennsylvania Lumbermens Mutual Insurance Company and hope that in 2019 we can do even more to support the causes most important to us and to our loved ones.
