The Grazing Mind

Last August, WhiteWave kicked off a program called Share Your Delight.

When our consumers purchased one of our delicious holiday products – whether from Silk^®, Horizon^®, International Delight^® and LAND O LAKES^® – we asked them to go online and enter a code. By entering that code, we in turn donated $.50 to one of two great causes, including Toys for Tots or Coats for Kids.

Simple, right?

Well, maybe not for everyone. The holidays can prove to be a busy, stressful time that’s full of demands. It’s comforting to know that people will carve a few minutes out of their day to step up and make a big difference. The results are in, and thanks to our consumers, the Share Your Delight program generated:

• More than 115,000 codes entered online
• $42,000 for Coats for Kids
• $15,000 for Toys for Tots

We are proud of our consumers – thank you!

Every year, right around Christmas there are at least two things you can count on.

1. A Christmas Story will be shown on repeat, for 24 straight hours beginning Christmas Eve (Ralphie will almost shoot his eye out in every dang one of ‘em)

2. It’s a Wonderful Life will be on at least three television channels at any given time between Dec. 23, and Dec. 26

It’s a sure thing.

So why bring it up? Because we’re actually helping out with something along those lines this year; only with a little twist. We’re underwriting a special fundraising performance of the Colorado Shakespeare Festival’s holiday play It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play by Joe Landry. And we’re giving half the proceeds from the December 8th performance to our friends at Community Food Share (an organization part of the Feeding America network (the nation’s largest hunger relief charity).

It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play by Joe Landry is set in a 40s radio studio, with five actors recreating Frank Capra’s classic film, It’s a Wonderful Life, in a live broadcast. It’s got commercial breaks, one of those old applause signs and the actors even do their own sound effects. I’ve heard from quite a few people around here that it’s a great performance, and a great time… not to mention it supports a great cause.

So if you’re in the area, pick up some tickets and enjoy the show. For details on the event, check out our website.

To learn 10 things you didn’t know about It’s a Wonderful Life, check out this website.

Building off Luana’s post from earlier in the week, I thought it would be cool to recognize some other amazing givers outside our offices that are truly inspiring.

I’m a firm believer in embracing the inspiration to give whenever it moves you, But I think it’s also important to recognize the many who are dedicated to giving year round. One example - Homegirl Café in Los Angeles where founder Patricia Zarate hires and trains women who might otherwise be pulled into gangs. Not only do the new hires get cooking and barista experience, the restaurant’s new vertical garden offers a lesson in sustainability and local agriculture.

Of course it’s not the only one of its kind – Check out FareStart Restaurant in Seattle, Plates Café and Catering in Sacramento and Crossroads Café in San Francisco.

And in our neck of the woods, Same Café in Denver doesn’t offer a set menu or prices – patrons offer what they think their meal was worth, or even more to help out those who are less fortunate in the community. If someone cannot offer a dollar amount, the restaurant encourages donating an hour of service.

Definitely looking to make a field trip to see that kind of heart in person, and give a little bit back myself.

These past few months at WhiteWave are inspirational and a good reminder of what the holidays are all about. And no, I haven’t drunk the Silk Nog; I am truly inspired by the generosity of my WhiteWave colleagues and what we’ve been able to do, collectively, to make the holidays a little brighter for those in our communities who are less fortunate.

WhiteWave has been very fortunate to have a good year in spite of a challenging economy. So I was pleased to learn that we decided to scale back our holiday party a bit for the second year by giving some of the money we’d normally spend on it to Community Food Share (CFS) – one of our primary non-profit partners who help fight hunger in our area.

The cool thing is we were still able to have a great party to celebrate 2010 and all of our accomplishments, but this small sacrifice will help make a big difference in the lives of those who need our help. In fact, our donation will allow CFS to provide an additional 100,000 meals to Boulder County residents this holiday season. Not to mention, we’ve donated more than $150,000 and 1.5 million pounds of product to CFS so far this year and have volunteered hundreds of hours. Working for a food company, it feels pretty great to know that we play a role in ensuring food security in our own community.

In addition, over the last few weeks, our headquarters lobby has been literally busting at the seams with items collected for local shelters and non-profits. Some of our activities have included:

• Holding a coat and blanket drive to benefit Coats for Colorado and the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless
• Adopting families and children for the Emergency Family Assistance Association, Toys for Tots and Share-A-Gift holiday giving programs
• Sponsoring 120 children from the Mercy Housing “Adopt a Child” program, to extend our holiday giving reach into Denver
• Holding a company-wide raffle (with chance to win front-row parking and snow removal in December) to benefit Attention Homes. One of our execs won and opened the space to a daily silent auction to raise additional funds. (Unfortunately, this year has not been the best to win snow removal, as that would in fact require snow; but in theory, I love this idea!)

In the end, it’s all about the holiday spirit, which I’m pleased to report is alive and well at WhiteWave. Not that such outpouring of generosity is contained to the holidays around here… There is a lot of giving and volunteering that happens here throughout the year. But I can’t help but feel an extreme sense of pride for what we were able to do to help those in our communities have a safer, warmer, happier and healthier holiday.

What has inspired YOU this holiday season? I’d love to hear your stories.