F-M Companies Volunteer to Transform YWCA Landscape

F-M companies are getting their hands dirty to help the YWCA Emergency Shelter finish their landscaping project in one day.
 
They’re off the clock but still working hard.

Over 65 volunteers from Rasmussen, Integreon and Lowe’s are shoving shovels in the dirt to turn up a whole new landscape.
 
“We’re here helping to beautify the grounds,” Rasmussen Academic Dean Rob Neuteboom.
 
It’s not a typical work day for Neateboom.
 
“It’s a chance for us to get out of the office and a chance for us to do something that’s meaningful,” Neateboom says.
 
They’re all here to help landscape the YWCA Emergency Shelter, trying to make it look inviting for the women and children who use it.
 
“It’s a great opportunity to be a part of the community and be part of something that people can enjoy,” Neateboom says.
 
With over 65 volunteers from over three local organizations, they expect to get the project done by the end of the day.
 
“Lowe’s had pulled in Rasmussen, and they pulled in Integreon and the project just got bigger and bigger and bigger, and we are absolutely thrilled,” YWCA Communications Coordinator Anne Slette says.
 
They’re saying they lucked out with weather.

Yesterday, the Lowe’s team did all the prep work throughout the soggy rain storms.
 
“The team, they were so chipper, they worked hard through the rain all day like it was nothing,” Slette says.
 
“It was a little damp. Our team has a lot of good troopers, we had a lot of hard workers and everything out here, so we were able to get quite a bit done even with the weather,” Lowe’s Assistant Store Manager Emma Braughton.
 
Instead of the typical monetary gift, the groups say giving sets of helping hands still makes a big impact.
 
“It’s a big thing to be able to give that back to the community in not just ways where it’s donating products or anything like that but to actually be a part of it,” Braughton says.
 
“They’re making out emergency shelter a home. It’s not just a safe haven for women and children and it has become truly like a home,” Slette says.
 
Upholding what they call corporate social responsibility, Integreon has this advice for any company wanting to pitch in their shovel load for the local community.
 
“Tell them to look within their own organization and the needs of Fargo-Moorhead to see what they can do. As small as they may be, even a couple of people can make a difference,” Integreon Fargo Location Head Julie Laufenberg says.
 
Lowe’s donated all the equipment and materials needed to get the project done, including 75 perennials and 25 shrubs.