Tis the Season for Giving | by Jill Zwiener

The holiday season is upon us and that means shopping, baking, and gift giving. It's also the time of year when we think of the less fortunate. Maybe they are struggling to feed their young children, perhaps they are sick and are having difficulty paying bills, or maybe they are starting over because they lost everything they owned in a fire. At Valley_® Irrigation, we believe in giving back year-round. 

The largest organization we support is the United Way. The United Way of America is a non-profit organization – with more than 1,200 local United Way offices throughout the country – that coordinates a coalition of charities pooling their efforts in fundraising and support. The issues United Way offices focus on are determined locally because of the diversity of the communities served. However, the main focus areas include education, income, and health.

In addition to employee pledges, Valley raises money for the United Way through a parking space auction, a silent auction, book fairs, selling opportunities to wear jeans or shorts, hosting a Fun Day with contests, and selling raffle tickets for prizes (such as football and concert tickets) throughout the year.

In addition to the United Way, Valley employees  also give to other programs such as Toys for Tots, The Salvation Army, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Planet Water, and the American Lung Association.

You know, they say that what you give comes back to you tenfold. I am a firm believer of this. What’s your favorite way of giving back?

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Jill Zwiener Brand Manager Jill joined the Valley Irrigation team in 2011. She loves country music, fountain soda, food, college football, and the ski slopes of Colorado. She enjoys using photography to freeze the precious bits of time with her family into pictures that she can cherish for years.

How Will Planet Water Spend Valley Irrigation Donation? | by Jill Zwiener

Mark Steele and Michelle Stolte

Well, you guys did it! Through the Valley_® Water Their World™ promotion, the followers of our Valley Irrigation Facebook page helped to donate $1,000 to Planet Water, a non-profit organization that brings clean water to disadvantaged communities. The work that Planet Water does is life-changing, so by your participation, you’re now helping change lives, too!

Last week, Michelle Stolte, Valley Irrigation Global Marketing Manager, and I had the opportunity to spend some time with Mark Steele, Planet Water Founder and CEO. Not only did we get to see his cool new digs in the historic Bull Durham Building in downtown Omaha, NE, but we also had a chance to sit down and chat. He told us the money donated by Valley Irrigation will help fund the project they’ve implemented in Cambodia. This project supports schools and rural villages in the Siem Reap province (for those of you who are scratching your heads thinking, “Now where is that located?” it’s in the north/northwest part of the country). Gotta feel great about helping kids have fresh drinking water!

Mark said Planet Water has nearly 300 projects implemented in villages and schools in 10 countries in Asia. They have a number of new developments in the works, including looking to extend their childhood education programs into a community outreach program. The target will be caregivers and young children who are too young to attend school. What a great organization! We are proud that we had the opportunity to work with Planet Water and hope Valmont has the chance to continue the partnership!

Thanks again to everyone who was a part of the Valley Water Their World promotion! And don’t let the fact that we’ve already reached our goal stop you from giving more. Remember: You can make a difference!

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for information on future partnerships and information on Planet Water!