Spirit of Giving Takes Hold at Farm Bureau Insurance to Benefit Children’s Home
On Thursday, April 7 the spirit of giving inspired a team of Farm Bureau Insurance staff members to visit St. Vincent Catholic Charities (STVCC) to donate 340 rolls of colored duct tape in various sizes and colors to the STVCC Children’s Home. Duct tape is used by the residents of the Children’s Home to make bouquets of flowers as a form of therapy to help their coping skills.
The collection drive started when Angela Bouler, Manager, Commercial Lines Processing Department at Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan, saw a post on Facebook from St. Vincent Catholic Charities asking for donations of colored duct tape.
“We’ve donated to St. Vincent Catholic Charities for the past five years through their Holiday Giving donation drive, which has been so eye-opening to our children to experience giving back to others,” shared Angela. “When I saw their post, I was impacted by how creative of a therapeutic experience it can be and shared the information with our team at Farm Bureau. From there it quickly spawned into a contest.”
“We split the department into two teams of 20 employees each, and really had a lot of fun with it. We even created team names, with the ‘Mighty Ducts’ competing against the ‘Saints’ to see who could collect the most rolls over three weeks. The competitive spirit really kicked in, and we had a great time.”
Spirit of Giving Results Impacts Many
The competition far exceeded anyone’s expectations for the amount of rolls collected, as well as the different types of rolls and colors.
“This is a great example of both the power of social media and how supportive our community is,” shared John Karasinski, Associate Director of Community Relations at St. Vincent Catholic Charities. “Angela and the Farm Bureau team embraced this idea and it will have a very positive impact on the kids at the Children’s Home.
“You’d never think something as simple as duct tape could have as profound of an impact on a child’s life until you see it,” said Alysia Christy, Program Manager at the Children’s Home. “The bouquets that the kids are able to create are truly beautiful, and art therapy can play a big role in helping a child who has experienced abuse come to terms with their emotions.”
Shared one young girl to her therapist about creating flower bouquets, “Wow, I love this because it helps me feel calm on the inside.” Thanks to Farm Bureau insurance, many more children will be able to find a similar calm and peace with these donations.
Farm Bureau staff and STVCC Children’s Home staff celebrate after Farm Bureau donated 342 rolls of colored duct tape.
About the St. Vincent Catholic Charities Children’s Home
St. Vincent Catholic Charities’ (STVCC) Children’s Home offers Long Term and Short Term Residential Care, and 30 Day Clinical Assessment for children ages five to seventeen. Our assessment and stabilization services for children in crisis include individual and family therapy, an on grounds educational program for children unable to attend public schools, and twenty four hour counseling and role modeling.