GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Following the success of its inaugural Meijer Team Gives program in 2021 that empowered store and distribution facility team members to select nonprofits meaningful to them for a $2.8 million donation, the Midwest retailer expanded it this year to engage even more team members and make an even bigger impact in the communities it serves. In 2022, the Meijer Team Gives program will donate $3 million to more than 500 nonprofits chosen by Meijer team members, bringing the combined 2-year total to nearly $6 million.
“Meijer cares about the communities we serve, and our team members are the face of that commitment in our stores every day,” Meijer President & CEO Rick Keyes said. “We’re humbled to see our team members’ passion and support for these amazing nonprofits through Meijer Team Gives, because they are the core of who we are as a company.”
During Meijer Team Gives, each store and distribution facility is given $10,000 to donate to one nonprofit or split between two in the community. Team members at each location work together to identify the local nonprofits meaningful to them and the communities they serve. This year, the retailer extended the program to include six new stores that opened in 2022, as well as its Team Member Resource Groups to make an even bigger impact.
Additionally, seven Meijer stores – Howard, Wis., Lansing, Mich., Rivertown Market in Detroit, Warsaw, Ind., Manistee, Mich., Royal Oak, Mich. and Cold Springs, Ky. – that exemplified the retailer’s commitment to community last year were given an extra $5,000 each this year to donate to another nonprofit of their choice.
The Howard, Wis. Meijer chose three organizations significant to team members in very personal ways for $5,000 donations. When the store team was selecting organizations for Meijer Team Gives in 2021, Store Director Heidi Datema shared her own personal story of childhood abuse with her team, inspiring a donation to Golden House, an organization providing help and healing for domestic abuse victims. Datema’s courage and vulnerability in sharing her story inspired several team members to share their own stories of past struggles this year, and subsequently choose three organizations close to them for very meaningful donations – House of Hope, Nami of Brown County and the Bridge of Green Bay.
“One of our team members was living in her car when she first moved here from another state, and House of Hope helped her change her life by finding a job and a stable place to live,” said Datema, who choked up sharing her team’s emotional story this year. “They made a huge difference in her life, and she was so thankful for the opportunity to give back and help more people turn their life around.”
