Schneider associates break more charitable giving records

Reflecting on 2016, we had another fantastic year with Schneider associates giving back to the community. One way we do this is by donating to some great local charities; specifically, the Salvation Army and the Rawhide Boys Ranch.

We had all four of our Green Bay locations involved this year, adopting 47 families through The Salvation Army — a record-breaking 162 individuals.

That is 162 adults, children and newborns that would otherwise go without. Gifts ranged from everyday household cleaning items to toys and apparel to full sets of cookware. In addition to the families we adopted, we collected dozens and dozens of teen gifts. These gift ideas were placed on our Giving Trees located within our corporate headquarters in Green Bay. The featured teen gift provided an opportunity for associates to contribute at an individual level and stick within a budget they can afford.

Our associates’ generosity didn’t stop there. We adopted all seven houses at Rawhide Boys Ranch. Schneider associates provided gifts for 47 boys ranging in age from 13-17 — also a five-year record breaker.

For most of these boys this is the first Christmas they experience. I had an opportunity to talk with one boy during our visit to Rawhide and he was there last Christmas too. He shared how grateful he was to receive the gifts and shared stories how excited the boys in his house were. He was looking forward to Christmas again this year.

Charitable giving is an important part of the Schneider Way and the holidays are a great time to embrace that piece of our culture and find ways to live this out through our actions. The most rewarding part is receiving the thank you letters from the families and videos of the boys opening their gifts. Each year we get heartfelt thank you cards from families who receive our gifts. They are often filled with notes sharing tears of joy, appreciation of the generosity and scribbles from children thanking us for their presents.

They boys from Rawhide are often in awe that complete strangers that will never know them would by gifts for them, expensive ones. Seeing the pure excitement in the boys while they open their gifts is priceless and is all the thank you our teams of associates need to keep coming back year after year.