One of the many reasons why I love working at Samtec is the associates (employees) have a heart for giving and a willingness to show it. Each year Samtec locations participate by giving to those in need.
Toy and Joy Drive
Samtec associates at our Wilsonville, Oregon, cable facility connected with Compassion in Action Clackamas County/Toy and Joy, a non-profit volunteer organization that works with local social service agencies and other groups to identify families in need. The families identified meet the standard for Federal Food Stamp Income guidelines, verifying the need.
“Toy and Joy” provided the name of a family with a mother of 3 children (ages 9, 11, 16) and a step dad. One of our associates is the designated contact (or Secret Santa), and called the mother to find out more about what each child wanted for Christmas. Samtec associates made tags of the gifts needed and put them on the Christmas tree in our lobby, had a kick off event for our associates with cookies, and told them about the opportunity to make this a great experience for this family. We ran fundraisers for the past 6 months including a Silent Auction of some old items we needed to dispose of, and raised over $600 to pay for any items needed that were not donated. We plan to deliver the gifts the week before Christmas… with someone dressed up like Santa like last year”., says Laurie Kicklighter, HR Manager at Samtec Wilsonville.
A special thanks goes to our Secret Santa – Jimmie Stewart, who shares her personal story of how Toy and Joy made such a difference in her life many years ago. And to Jason Gould, one of our associates who volunteered to help the non-profit reclaim their website domain that had expired with no one to help get it back up and running. It’s in the works as I write this blog!
Spreading Good
Earlier in the year, associates from Samtec’s Design Center pitched in at Harvest Hope, a local food bank in Columbia, SC. Associates volunteered to sort donations, box items, and distribute to local families in need. Ted Ballou, one of Samtec’s Signal Integrity experts, is the son of the co-founders of Harvest Hope – which is pretty neat! Samtec’s Columbia Design Center is hoping to make this a re-occurrence in January 2024.
There are many other stories we could share, but hopefully, these handful will encourage you to find ways to make a difference in others’ lives. You can make a difference on your own, with your family, with coworkers, or in any way.
Happy Holidays and many blessings from Samtec Inc!
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