Season’s offerings
For the second year in a row, employees at Landaas & Company teamed up to assist the Next Door Foundation, a child-centered organization based in Milwaukee’s Metcalfe Park neighborhood.
Landaas associates adopted a Next Door classroom of six children ranging from newborn to toddler.
Together, Landaas employees shopped for, wrapped and delivered six gifts for each of the children, plus a $20 gift card for each of their families. Gifts included books, bottles, pants, tops, developmentally appropriate toys, and diapers. Landaas’s elves contributed playthings to be shared in the classroom as well.
Landaas staff also outfitted three diaper bags for expectant families associated with Next Door, including bibs, infant socks, bottles, diapers, infant blankets, baby lotion, shampoo, Onesies and the bags themselves.
Increased homelessness both from economic setbacks and last summer’s floods has heightened the needs of many families, said Beverly Bivens-Watkins, marketing and recruitment director for Next Door.
“It says a lot about the community, in this economy, to be able to give back to a family to make the holiday great,” Beverly said.
She said more than 300 children were served by the Adopt-A-Classroom program, along with 70 families adopted for the holidays through Next Door by various families, churches and businesses.
Landaas & Company fosters community involvement and offers employees eight hours of paid time off per quarter for volunteer work. For example, Reuben Neese, information technology director at Landaas, recently volunteered with Help-Portrait Milwaukee to provide free portraits to homeless individuals.
initially posted December 16, 2010