Casually raising money for a good cause

We are always looking for ways to make a difference in the community. Last October, Donna Conley shared a program her son’s employer, Safeway, put on to raise money for charity—allowing employees to “buy” casual days and donating the funds to a good cause.

It was an easy decision to adopt a similar program at Merriman. 2009 was a difficult year for many of us, and we wanted to do something for those less fortunate. We chose Northwest Harvest (NW Harvest), a Washington state hunger relief agency, to be the recipient of our fundraising efforts.

NW Harvest distributed food to over 300 food banks, hot meal programs and elementary schools across Washington. By supplying food, NW Harvest allows those on limited incomes to use their cash for medical expenses, housing, transportation costs, utilities, and childcare.

We offered our employees the right to buy casual days for the months of November and December at $3 per day. Merriman matched every employee contribution, dollar for dollar. Through our combined efforts we raised over $1,700 for NW Harvest in 2009.

This November we are back at it and hoping to raise even more than last year. To read more about NW Harvest or make a donation, please click here. If you think Safeway’s idea is good too, please pass it along to your employer and help contribute to a great cause.

Written by Julie Holmberg