300+ Hours Volunteered for Outdoor Cleanup Efforts
300+ Hours Volunteered for Outdoor Cleanup Efforts
Nov. 1, 2021
North Risk’s #oneTEAM volunteered over 300 hours during its Summer Spruce-up Challenge. Team members weeded gardens, planted pollinators, cleaned up the outdoors, and more — all in support of seniors, youth, and the environment.
An All-day Effort by our Hiawatha, Iowa, Team at Camp Courageous
North Risk’s Hiawatha, Iowa, team spent the day at nonprofit Camp Courageous moving furniture, clearing brush, mowing the lawn, and weeding the campgrounds. Camp Courageous provides year-round recreational and respite care for campers with special needs. The organization envisions a world where individuals with special needs are empowered with courage to look beyond their current capabilities and explore the world with confidence.
Keeping Omaha Beautiful
Our Omaha, Neb. team members supported Keep Omaha Beautiful at Oak Heights Park. This environmental non-profit organization fosters environmental and community stewardship through education, service, and advocacy.
Giving Love to a St. Paul Community Center's Outdoor Spaces
The Hallie Q. Brown Community Center in St. Paul, Minn., is dedicated to improving quality of life in the Twin Cities community by providing access to critical human services, fostering and promoting personal growth, and developing community leadership. A group of North Risk’s Mendota Heights office team members volunteered time spent sprucing up the center’s outdoor spaces.
Beautifying the Quiet Oaks Hospice House in the St. Cloud, Minn., area
Quiet Oaks Hospice House provides a comfortable, dignified haven for residents and families who are facing terminal illness.
Pollinator Garden Planted by our Fargo, N.D. Team
North Risk's Fargo, N.D., team planted a new pollinator garden at Orchard Glen Park. A project of the Urban Woods & Prairie Initiative, Orchard Glen is for all members of the community to enjoy.
Tending the Garden at Sisters of Saint Francis in Rochester, Minn.
Our Rochester, Minn., team tended the vegetable garden at the Sisters of Saint Francis. Rochester Franciscan Sisters are involved in many aspects of the local community: they minister to those in hospitals and hospice, as well as serve as therapists and educators to community members in need.
More Community Involvement
Meaningful Mentors
Scott Fiedler and Jennifer Strawn of North Risk's Sioux Falls, S.D., office have stepped up to the #challenge of being a mentor. Last fall, the pair each committed to mentor a school-age child for four years through the Sioux Falls TeamMates mentoring program.
TeamMates’ mission is to inspire students to develop their full potential and realize a successful, meaningful life through mentoring. This program ensures stability in a child’s life. Each child receives time with their mentor weekly for fun activities and games or just to talk. Jennifer and Scott both look forward to spending time with their mentees each week. “You can’t believe how excited these kids get,” Jennifer says. Scott shared that his grade school mentee has taught him many things about hunting through their weekly hangouts.
The hope of TeamMates is to create a ripple effect through the generations. Since 1991, TeamMates of Sioux Falls has seen almost 100 mentees pay their experience forward by becoming mentors through TeamMates. Regarding Scott and Jennifer's experience serving their community as mentors, “many of us don’t know how privileged we are,” the two concluded.
Cycling for Childhood Cancer
This past September Mary Kay Andreen of North Risk's Plymouth, Minn., office ecstatically participated in her second Great Cycle Challenge and completed over 250 miles on her trusty 10-speed bike. The Great Cycle Challenge raises money for the Children’s Cancer Research Fund, a national, non-profit with a mission of ending childhood cancer.
In the Great Cycle Challenge’s six years of existence, riders from all 50 states have biked a total of 25 million miles and raised nearly 40 million dollars in support of research to develop better treatments and find a cure for childhood cancer.
Mary Kay reflects on discovering the challenge: “While I was first looking into this organization, one line stayed with me. Kids should be living life, NOT fighting for it.
It is easy to help the next person, neighbor, community, school. We all need help at some point in our lives. I feel lucky to work for a company that believes in mission work and serving others, as part of our core values.”