LANSING, Mich. — LAFCU’s employees wear jeans on Friday mindful that they’re playing an active role in helping their community, $2 at a time. Because more than 120 employees participated every week throughout 2014, the proceeds added up to $10,980, which was donated to local not-for-profit organizations and other social causes.
“We believe our significant employee involvement is more a result of wanting to support community charities than the opportunity to dress casually,” said Michele VanDien, LAFCU assistant vice president–human resources and chairperson of the Casual Dress Committee that determines the beneficiaries of the donations. “We base the distribution of our donations on suggestions from participating employees. This allows us to benefit organizations that our employees truly care about and with whom they may have personal connections.”
The mid-Michigan credit union established the casual dress day as a charity program in 1994 as part of its ongoing effort to play an active role in making the community a better place to live. A conservative estimate of the total amount contributed to the community through Casual Dress donations is $150,000.
Of the money raised in 2014, $7,000 was donated to not-for-profit organizations and $3,980 was donated to other social causes such as fundraisers and individuals and families in need.