Hy-Vee Kicks Off ‘Week of Service’
With its week of service starting Feb. 22, Hy-Vee Inc.'s employees are helping create real, long-lasting change in the areas of racial unity and equality by pledging 5,000 hours of service to nonprofit organizations across its eight-state region. Employees chose nonprofit organizations in their local areas that help families in underserved communities or are dedicated to social justice and racial equity.
The week of service is part of the commitment Hy-Vee made last year to donate $1 million and 1 million volunteer hours to organizations that support racial unity and equality. In addition to volunteer hours, Hy-Vee has to date donated $595,000 as part its $1 million commitment to organizations working to create positive change in our communities.
From Feb. 22 to Feb. 26, more than 50 volunteer events will be conducted across Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin at the following locations:
Illinois:
Galesburg — Blessing Boxes
Macomb — Loaves and Fishes Food Distribution
Moline — Arc of the Quad Cities
Quincy — Quincy Neighborhood Foundation
Iowa:
Burlington — United Baptist Church
Cedar Rapids — Mission of Hope and Urban Dreams
Des Moines — Creative Visions
Central Iowa — Meals from the Heartland, Habitat for Humanity and Urban Dreams
Dubuque — Boys & Girls Club
Quad Cities — Fresh Start Center and Salvation Army
Sioux City — Food Bank of Siouxland
Waterloo/Cedar Falls — Jubilee Freedom Center
Kansas:
Kansas City — Harvesters Community Food Network
Topeka — Harvesters Community Food Network
Minnesota:
Twin Cities — Hallie Q (in partnership with the Minnesota Wild), Sanneh Foundation and Page Education Foundation
Missouri:
Columbia — Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri, and Salvation Army
Kansas City — Harvesters Community Food Network
Nebraska:
Lincoln —People’s City Mission
Omaha (Council Bluffs) — Heartland Hope Mission and Urban League of Nebraska
South Sioux City — Food Bank of Siouxland
South Dakota:
Sioux Falls —The Banquet
Watertown —People Against Childhood Hunger
Wisconsin:
Madison — Second Harvest Food Bank of Southern Wisconsin
In addition to honoring Black History Month, the week of service coincides with Supermarket Employee Appreciation Day on Feb. 22, which has been declared by Arlington, Virginia-based FMI — the Food Industry Association as a day to acknowledge the essential role of supermarket employees. In honor of the occasion, Hy-Vee stores are holding special events to share their appreciation for the company’s more than 88,000 employees.
In 2020 alone, Hy-Vee has provided incentives to becoming an essential worker at its locations by giving more than $167.2 million in bonuses and other benefits to its employees.
With sales of $11 billion annually, the employee-owned Hy-Vee operates more than 275 retail stores across eight Midwestern states. The company is No. 33 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2020 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
