The employees of WIKA USA embody the spirit of Thanksgiving. They are thankful they have enough to eat, and they made sure community members do as well by bringing in thousands of canned and packaged foods for tthe 2019 corporate philanthropy effort.
If there’s one word that describes WIKA USA employees, it’s generosity. Well, perhaps two words, as they are also competitive when it comes to a good cause.
Throughout November, the halls and storage areas at the Lawrenceville headquarters overflowed with donated nonperishable food items.
From November 4 to 22, 2019, the WIKA headquarters in Lawrenceville, Georgia, collected canned and packaged goods for local residents in need. This year’s drive resulted in more than 5,000 donated items – a company record.
A little friendly competition never hurt corporate philanthropy. Bernadette Biggs, Director of Quality, issued the challenge to see which department could bring in the most items. As it turned out, the department that started the competition was also the one that came out on top.
Congratulations to the Quality Department, which was responsible for collecting 1,941 items. In second place was the collaboration of Sales, Marketing, and Customer Service, with 1,561 canned and packaged goods. Shipping brought in 414. The rest were from individuals who left their donations in the break room.
With 1,941 donated items, Quality was the undisputed winner in the friendly contest to see which department could collect the most canned and packaged foods.
But the challenge wasn’t over yet. The next step was to transport all the items. A group of hardy volunteers piled all the the boxes and crates onto dollies, wheeled them to the parking lot, and then loaded them into employees’ waiting cars and trucks. The convoy then took the donations to Lawrenceville Cooperative Ministry, Inc. This co-op meets the emergency needs of households in Lawrenceville and Dacula, a neighboring city in Gwinnett County, by assisting with food, clothing, utility bills, and medical needs.
Thanks to the joint efforts of generous WIKA employees, local residents with food insecurity will have more to eat this holiday season.
