MCF NEWS ARCHIVES
4/12/05

The Corporate Volunteerism Council Twin Cities (CVC) has honored Land O’Lakes, St. Paul, and Piper Jaffray, Minneapolis, for their outstanding corporate volunteer programs with the presentation of CVC’s annual Leadership and Spotlight Awards.

Land O’Lakes was presented with CVC’s Leadership Award for its outstanding leadership and its Community Splash! employee volunteer program. Employees and retirees volunteer time and resources to the community through individual volunteerism, participation in company-sponsored opportunities, and group volunteerism initiated by various locations and departments. Community Splash! launched in 2004, and was designed specifically to engage plant facilities in social responsibility, to educate them about community needs and provide them with the tools needed to promote volunteerism at their locations.

As a result of the new Land O’Lakes Community Splash! program, the number of community service projects in the Twin Cities has more than doubled and the number of plant facility projects has quadrupled.

"Encouraging, recognizing and rewarding our employees for taking an active role in their communities is an essential element in Land O’Lakes commitment to being a responsible and responsive corporate citizen," said Jack Gherty, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes. "The Big Splash program accomplishes this and is one part of our long-standing dedication to corporate, team and individual social responsibility. Being a leader in our communities is an important part of our culture and truly helps define who Land O’Lakes is as an organization."

With the Leadership Award comes a $500 CVC contribution to a nonprofit of the company’s choice. Land O’Lakes has selected Melrose Community Food Shelf as the beneficiary of its award.

Piper Jaffray was presented with CVC’s Spotlight Award for its outstanding initiative, A Place to Call Home, a joint project of Piper Jaffray and Neighborhood Development Center (NDC). A Place to Call Home is an initiative to improve the lives of residents and the health of local businesses in the Midtown Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis. Over a three-year period, Piper Jaffray will contribute substantial employee volunteer hours and a total of $500,000 to the program, with an initial grant of $175,000 in 2004.

To maximize its contributions, Piper Jaffray has partnered with NDC, a community-based nonprofit organization that works in low-income communities in St. Paul, Minneapolis and surrounding suburbs of greater Minnesota. NDC previously led the development in the Midtown Phillips neighborhood of the Mercado Central, a thriving Latino community market consisting of 49 Latino-owned businesses that collectively generate more than $4 million in sales per year.

"One of our guiding principles is to contribute our talents and resources to serve the communities in which we live and work," said Andrew Duff, chairman and chief executive officer of Piper Jaffray. "We are thrilled to participate in the success of A Place to Call Home initiative. Our employees have the opportunity to use their time and talent in several unique ways including mentoring entrepreneurs, providing expertise in financing, marketing, computer literacy and much more."

Piper Jaffray has selected NDC as the recipient of its $500 CVC contribution.

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