Minnkota employees top $50,000 in giving

Minnkota employees' Jeans Day Fund has reached a milestone, touching dozens of charities over the decade.

February 28, 2020

Minnkota’s Grand Forks employees have reached a significant milestone. They have now given more than $50,000 in donations to charities around the region.

The money comes from the Jeans Day Fund, which began in 2011. Jeans Day is a program through which Grand Forks employees have the privilege of wearing jeans on Fridays for a donation of $45 a year. A $500 donation to Red River Valley Habitat for Humanity on Jan. 30 put Grand Forks employees over the $50,000 mark.

This Giving Hearts Day, Feb. 13, employees kept the giving streak going with $500 donations to both the Grand Forks Senior Center and the Circle of Friends Animal Shelter.

Minnkota's Callie Wagner presents Becky Broadwell, Grand Forks Senior Center development officer, with a $500 Jeans Day Fund donation.

“I think that it’s great that organizations do this,” said Becky Broadwell, development officer for the Grand Forks Senior Center. “It’s a unique way to give back to nonprofits in the community that make a difference to our neighbors, families and friends.”

The donation to Circle of Friends will help the animal shelter with necessary medical treatments for incoming animals, from medications to spaying and neutering. "The money will also go toward buying new supplies and keeping everyone clean and happy, which is amazing,” said Arielle McNamee, foster coordinator for Circle of Friends.

Circle of Friends Animal Shelter's Justine Melvin (left) and Arielle McNamee (middle) accept a $500 Jeans Day donation from Minnkota's Kaylee Cusack.

Earlier, those who contribute to Jeans Day made Christmas 2019 a little more comfortable for some families in the region. A special annual Jeans Day holiday fundraiser resulted in $1,325 being donated to St. Joseph’s Social Care and Thrift Store of Grand Forks. That’s the most employees have given to the food shelf during the holidays.

Minnkota multimedia specialist Kevin Jeffrey (right) presents a Jeans Day check to St. Joseph's executive director Mickey Munson.

“It’s tremendous,” St. Joseph’s executive director Mickey Munson said of the donation. “We feel honored to live in a giving community.”

St. Joseph’s used the money to buy food to restock its food pantry shelves. Munson said more than 8,000 pounds of food could be purchased with the donation. St. Joseph’s typically stocks its shelves with items from places such as Great Plains Food Bank of Crookston, Minn., for 16 cents a pound.

Main image: Minnkota engineering supervisor Kasey Borboa (left) hands a check to Habitat for Humanity's Marisa Sorensen.

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