Black Hills Energy employees in Council Bluffs, Iowa, recently led a food drive that brought in more than 1,300 pounds of food for their food insecure neighbors.
Iowa Ambassadors organized the event, with food donations going to the Food Bank for the Heartland. Ambassadors are Black Hills Energy employees who opt to develop their leadership skills through community involvement.
A friendly competition made things more interesting. Employees at the Council Bluffs facility of Iowa Gas were split into three teams. They used a point system based on food items that are in high demand at the food pantry. Bonus points were awarded if certain food items came in as a set; for example, in the breakfast category, cereal was worth 3 points, pancake mix worth 2 points and canned fruit worth 2 points, but if the three items came in together they counted for 10 points.
Teams could either collect food items to donate or collect money to purchase food items for donation. The winning team blew away the competition with their smart buy: their strategy provided 976 food items worth 2,231 points!
Did you know 41 percent of food collected for the food insecure comes from corporate donations? In all, the Council Bluffs crew collected 1,392 items that weighed 1,362 pounds and will provide 1,135 meals to community members in need.
While competition is fun, the good we are able to accomplish together was the most important part of this project. Well done team!
We partner with our communities and customers, providing the kind of energy that fuels those areas and the lives of those we serve. Feel free to share the stories and photos. Make sure to tag us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Positive Energy
-
Pipelines carry energy products that fuel our lives and our livelihoods. They heat our homes and schools, power our industrial base and enable our daily commutes. Pipelines are also by far the safest method of transporting energy products. But in the unlikely event a pipeline incident should occur… -
Hearing about students in the Arkansas River Valley who leave school Friday to spend the weekend in food-insecure homes pulls at the heartstrings of our Ozark, Arkansas, division. Our team has been behind-the-scenes partnering with Ozark Public Schools to support a backpack program for more than… -
Extended Leadership Team (ELT) meetings bring together senior leadership, managers and supervisors to share ideas, network and learn. Team building is another important aspect of good leadership – and working together on a community project proved to be a great team-building opportunity for our… -
Led by a lifelong community volunteer, the Village of Polk in central Nebraska is working hard to revitalize its 100-year-old bandstand. Positioned in the center of town, the grand bandstand was once the center of entertainment and gatherings. Sadly, over the years, the bandstand has fallen into…