Giving Together Program Demonstrates Spirit of Volunteerism

When WoodmenLife launched our Giving Together program in 2019, it was designed to give our Sales Representatives financial and organizational support to organize local service projects. But the engine has always been the spirit of volunteerism.

That spirit helps when our Representatives build teams of volunteers, who gather to paint, beautify or clean up public and private spaces in their hometowns.

And that spirit was easy to spot in the Giving Together project that spruced up a memorial garden in Concord, NC.

Clearly, that patch of ground outside Rocky River Elementary School had received some attention. There were artificial flowers, a statue and angel figurines. And the area caught the eye of WoodmenLife Representative Meagan Young during the 2022-23 school year.

Turns out, what she saw was a space dedicated to a little girl who passed away while she was a student at Rocky River. Young asked the principal if he’d be interested in a project that would give the garden a makeover.

“He said he could totally go for that,” Young said. “So, I actually had my Giving Together project picked out last spring.”

Getting Work Done

The spirit of volunteerism was also easy to spot in a project in Mortons Gap, KY.

There, Financial Representative Dana Dyer helped the local civic club prettify a city park.

“They wanted to make the park nice so they could enjoy it and bring their kids to it,” she said. “It’s a small town, and they want to keep it up.”

Placing landscaping blocks around flowerbeds, putting decorative toppers on light poles, providing mulch for the playground, and installing a new swing were among the project activities. And not even inclement weather deterred the work.

“It was a rainy morning,” Dyer said, “and they were asking, ‘Are we still doing this?’”

The answer, of course, was, “Yes.”

“They were so excited that we would take an interest in their community,” Dyer said.

Young’s experience was similar.

“It was amazing,” she said. “Teachers came out, and the principal came out. They were in awe of what we did.”

What they did was weed, pull stumps, till, plant flowers, and install a birdbath with steppingstones to it. The statue dedicated to the student and the angel figurines were placed back in the garden, too.

“It was exhausting and rewarding all at the same time,” Young said.

Both Representatives are ready to find the next way to give back. Dyer told the Mortons Gap Civic Club to let her know when the spruced-up park needed a new flag for its flagpole. And Young already has an idea for next year’s Giving Together project.

“Community outreach is where my heart beats,” she said.

Highlights Span Coast-to-Coast

In all, there were 500 Giving Together projects organized and conducted throughout the country this past summer and fall. With the help of 3,498 volunteers, who amassed a total of 14,620 volunteer hours, $241,594 was invested into bettering our communities in 2023. Year in and year out, the results continue to improve.

Throughout the program’s four-year tenure, WoodmenLife Sales Representatives have made a true impact:

• 1,222 total projects
• 42,986 total volunteer hours
• $582,689 total invested in communities

Learn more about WoodmenLife’s spirit of volunteerism at WoodmenLife.org/About

See how you can be part of a volunteer event near you by checking in with your local WoodmenLife chapter. Find a chapter near you at WoodmenLife.org/Find/Chapter

Not a member yet? Find a Representative near you at WoodmenLife.org/Find/Rep

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