Please enjoy this preview article featured in the upcoming 2024 Stories Of Opportunity—releasing Friday, March 7. 

Make A Difference: Our Commitment To Giving Back   

One of VGM Group’s Power Of One Principles is Make A Difference. It's something VGM embodies and advocates, inside and outside of the company—whether it’s making monetary donations to local organizations or employee owners taking time in their day to volunteer. And no matter the scale, the impact can mean the world to those affected. 

Be The Change   

On Feb. 14, 2024, the VGM Community Giving Committee announced VGM’s 2024 Be The Change Partner as Habitat For Humanity—a global non-profit organization that helps build or improve homes in countless communities for those in need of housing. They have changed the lives of millions across the world and Made A Difference for families in VGM’s own community.   

VGM’s donation to Habitat For Humanity totaled $45,000, and was spread across three cities near VGM location in the U.S.   

On top of the financial donation, CEO Jeremy Stolz announced that VGM would contribute 3,000 volunteer hours—allowing employee owners to get hands-on with Habitat For Humanity and Make A Difference for the communities we call home.   

In total, employee owners contributed 3,179 hours to volunteering in 2024.   

A Spotlight On Volunteers   

Make A Difference is one of VGM’s eight Power Of One Principles. We Make A Difference for our customers, our patients, our employee owners, and the community. With CEO Jeremy Stolz’s announcement of committing to 3,000 volunteer hours during 2024, many employee owners took up the initiative to Make A Difference in the communities they call home.   

Starting in June through December of 2024 (and to continue into 2025), a spotlight was given each month to an employee owner who was nominated for their volunteer work.    

“I volunteer because it’s incredibly rewarding,” said Jen Gilbert, Senior Copywriter for Two Rivers Marketing and VGM’s June 2024 Spotlight. “Volunteering for an organization like Habitat for Humanity—it just makes you feel good knowing you can truly make a difference, no matter how big or how small your role might be. You’re still contributing to making a difference in our community.”    

Jen had volunteered for our Be The Change Partner, Habitat for Humanity—somewhere where she had volunteered many times in the past. But Jen wasn’t on her own; she was also with a handful of members from Women In Leadership.   

And this is a very common occurrence at VGM: Employee owners working together to build a better community. If you don’t want to volunteer alone, it’s easy to look around to your fellow employee owners for opportunities to arise.   

“VGM played a pivotal role in helping me find time to volunteer,” said Amanda Nugent, Associate Scrum Master for VGM Fulfillment and VGM’s December 2024 Volunteer Spotlight. “Being part of the Young Professionals Group and a chair for DEI, the opportunities started to present themselves.”   

Volunteering can, and does, come in many forms. Melanie Tournier, Senior Account Executive for Strategic Imaging and VGM’s October 2024 Volunteer Spotlight, runs the gambit. From helping pack boxes of stuffed animals and organizing events for Furries 4 Fosters (her daughter Aaliyah’s organization) to making salsa and selling it to fundraise for Let’s Start Talking (her daughter Tehya’s organization).   

But above all else, the most common piece of advice given by all of our Spotlights when it comes to volunteering has been to make sure you find something that interests you and take that first step.   

“Even giving back in the smallest of ways, whether that’s making a monetary donation, providing an hour of your time, or promoting a cause you’re passionate about—it can make a huge difference for someone,” said Holly DiMarco, Human Resource Generalist for Human Capital and VGM’s November 2024 Volunteer Spotlight.   

New Charity Partners   

During the Be The Change event, Christa Miehe, President of Corporate Communications, announced that employee owners will have the opportunity to nominate four new charities to be featured on the charity wall during the VGM Journey. This stop on the Journey is significant, as visitors can put their name on a sticker, place it under one of the four featured charities, and VGM will make a donation to that charity in the visitor’s name.   

The four new charities chosen by employee owners were:   

House of Hope    

House of Hope provides a home, a community, and a transformation for homeless, single-mother families and women ages 18-24 who age out of foster care.   

Alive & Running    

This nonprofit organization uses funds to raise suicide prevention awareness, feeling education is key to preventing suicide. They also host two grief support groups in Waverly and Waterloo for those who have experienced a loss due to suicide.    

Kadens Kloset    

Kadens Kloset supplies material items and necessities for families, sustains ongoing services for foster and adoptive families, and equips people to engage in caring for children and families in need.​ Foster and adoptive families, children, teens, expectant mothers, and local families in need are then invited to “shop” the closet.   

Retrieving Freedom    

This nonprofit organization is passionately committed to enhancing the lives of veterans and children with autism through a specialized Service Dog training program. The dogs go through more than two years of training to meet the needs of their specific client.    

Through our partnerships and the dedication of our employee owners to giving back, VGM not only contributed financially but also invested thousands of volunteer hours to support our communities. This collective effort highlights our commitment to fostering positive change and the impact we can achieve together by Making A Difference.