As we near year’s end, we look back on our favorite moments. From big to small, we hope your year was filled with as many special memories as ours. We’re grateful for every person on this list who helped us make an impact in the communities we serve, including our employees. Each year, MEM and its employees give time or treasure to more than 125 different organizations. When we pair the enthusiasm for giving back with the work of phenomenal nonprofit partners, we have quite a list.
Please enjoy our top 23 Corporate Impact moments of 2023.
1. Helped High Schoolers Build Their Future
Took time to share information about workplace safety and insurance careers with high school students across the state through the Build My Future Programs in Springfield and Macon.
2. Created Kits for Children’s Hospital Patients
From colored pencil kits for older patients to playdough for younger ones, our Customer Care and Medical Services teams assembled kits for patients at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City and MU Children’s Hospital.
3. Made Birthdays Brighter
Birthdays are often a large expense for families working to make ends meet. Employees filled kits with balloons, streamers, cake mix, icing and more for 25 families at Love Columbia.
4. Went Green for Mental Health Awareness
We lit up the MEM home office in green lights to spread awareness about the importance of good mental health.
5. Kept Kids Safe
Our safety and risk services employees made a visit to Charlie’s House in Kansas City to complete a service project. They learned more about the nonprofit’s mission to keep families safe and prevent injuries in children.
6. Warmed up Hands
To prepare for winter, claims employees assembled kits for donation to the un-housed in Mid-Missouri with gloves, hand warmers, hats and other items.
7. Created Cozy Rooms for Veterans
Underwriting employees cut and tied no-sew blankets for future guests of the Fisher House in Columbia. The facility provides free temporary lodging for families of Veterans seeking hospital care. MEM Veteran employees also toured Fisher House and donated toiletries for guest rooms on Veterans Day.
8. Wrapped Diapers for Families
Employees wrapped more than 10,000 diapers in one day for First Chance for Children to use in the Baby Bags program.
9. Put Presents Under the Tree
We sponsored the Voluntary Action Center’s Holiday Program that served 1,008 families in Columbia, Missouri, this year. MEM employees volunteered during the week to assist in distributing presents.
10. Worked a Book Fair for Elementary Students
We spent a day with the Ozarks Literacy Council helping young readers shop for books at Williams Elementary. The council hosts special book fairs in select area schools where children are given a chance to pick out books.
11. Cleaned, Constructed and Sorted for Refugee Families
MEM employee groups spent time at City of Refuge this year: preparing a new space for a community daycare, sorting donations for the organization’s boutique and free closet, and cleaning up landscaping.
12. Lived UNITED
Employees volunteered at during the Heart of Missouri United Way’s Day of Action. MEM’s CEO Jim Owen also served as this year’s community campaign chair: an effort that raises more than $3 million in mid Missouri annually.
13. Stocked Shelves at the Food Bank Market
The MEM marketing team had the opportunity to stock shelves at The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri’s new pantry location, now called the Food Bank Market.
MEM has partnered with The Food Bank for the last six years in a matching gift campaign which has raised more than $482,000 for The Food Bank and the new Food Bank Market project.
14. Assembled Freezer Meals for Foster Families
From chicken burrito bowls to lasagna ravioli, Finance and Enterprise Services teamed up to assemble 20 freezer meals for foster families at Coyote Hill.
The organization is more than 30 years old and now consists of three areas: foster care licensing and support (added in 2020), the foster care community at the original Coyote Hill location in Harrisburg and an equine program for veterans and children in foster care.
15. Supported Special Needs Youth
Premium consultation spent an afternoon with Alternative Community Training to help them organize materials for their youth services program.
ACT offers long-term and short-term support programs for individuals with disabilities who desire to be included in the community. We asked them to tell us a little bit more about the experience.
16. Made the First Day at a New Job Easier
Human Resources assembled Encouragement Kits that will be given to new Job Point graduates throughout the year. Each recipient received a travel coffee mug and various pens and paper supplies emblazoned with sayings of encouragement. Team members also wrote a note to each recipient to include in each bag.
17. Picked Up at a Park
Our Wellness Committee worked with the City of Columbia to identify a park for litter cleanup and picked up trash around pavilions, baseball fields, a playground and archery range.
18. Gardened for Good
Several MEM teams cleaned up areas of the Center for Urban Agriculture in the summer helping to pull weeds, clear brush and more. In 2022, the organization grew and donated more than 40,000 pounds of produce to those in need through its Planting for the Pantry program.
19. Filled a Pantry for High School Students
When we learned Frederick Douglass High School needed a few more items for the student hygiene and food pantry before the school year started, we decided to turn it into a volunteer project. Armed with shopping lists, the team made sure student needs were met.
20. Packaged High-Need Hygiene Items
Employees assembled more than 80 feminine hygiene packs to fill in the gaps for the more than 20 percent of women who struggle to afford this item monthly. The packs were given to Voluntary Action Center.
21. Funded Scholarships for Kids’ Chance of Missouri
Employees played games to raise funds Kids’ Chance of Missouri during MEM’s WorkSAFE Day and netted more than $10,000 for the organization including a $5,000 match from MEM. Kids’ Chance is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing post-high school scholarships to children of Missouri workers killed or seriously injured on the job.
22. Stepped Forward for Good Causes
We walked more than 1,000 miles for charitable causes in virtual 5ks and charity walks. Employees donated each month to participate in our virtual 5ks and organized teams for fundraising events benefiting The Alzheimer’s Association, Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and more. MEM matched the funds they raised.
23. Supported Safety Training for More Than 1,000
We sponsored and volunteered for the annual Damage Prevention Summit in Springfield, Missouri. This two-day event reaches more than 1,300 with safety training. Annually, MEM impacts more than 10,000 employees with safety training.