Changing the Landscape 2018

Published by Team Midwest on Thursday, June 21, 2018 in Community

On Friday, June 15, over 110 of our employees and contractors stepped out and served local community organizations in the company's southwest and southeast Michigan service territories as part of our annual Changing the Landscape Day of Service.

Eleven teams in southwest Michigan worked at 11 sites in Van Buren County to make improvements and help organizations with special needs and projects. Additional volunteer support came from Tree Servants, one of MEC's contract crews, and Advantage Plumbing in Niles.

Some of the specific jobs and locations included working with the Paw Paw United Christian Services VBC and the Van Buren County Intermediate School District to plant roughly 400 plants and herbs for the VBC's Learning Garden; removing downed trees at Lions Park and painting playground equipment at the children's park for the City of Bangor; removing trees and landscaping the grounds at St. Mary’ Catholic School in Paw Paw; trimming trees, landscaping and painting at the Van Buren County Youth Fair; serving a Father's Day lunch for senior citizens at the Paw Paw Senior Services Center; staining buildings and trimming trees at Pretty Lake Camp in Mattawan; and cleaning up a section of the Paw Paw River for the Van Buren County Conservation District.

Along with cleaning and organizing, we donated clothing and personal items to the care closet at the Lawrence Public School District along with kitchen supplies for the home economics class. We also donated items to Eleanor's Pantry in Paw Paw and Pretty Lake Camp in Mattawan.

One of the highlights of the day involved helping the Therapeutic Equestrian Center in Watervliet improve the stalls, arena and horse pasture along with painting the office space. Advantage Plumbing also fixed plumbing issues and donated and installed a water heater. “Our organization runs on roughly 8,000 volunteer hours each year and what you accomplished in one day was more than I could have possibly imagined,” said Lynn Pica farm manager at the center. “Your staff helped us out tremendously and truly improved the lives of those we serve.”

Roughly a dozen employees in southeast Michigan also volunteered their day by landscaping and cleaning up the grounds at the former Herrick Manor in Tecumseh that will soon become a women's and homeless shelter run by Neighbors of Hope.

“Our vision at MEC is to create vibrant, relevant and sustainable rural communities, not just through the products we offer, but also by rolling up our sleeves and making improvements to neighboring community organizations.” said Bob Hance, president/CEO.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this great event. Check out our photo album highlighting the day.

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