'Tis the Season: 2018 TMC Holiday Highlights
on Thursday, December 20, 2018
in
Company News
At TMC, the holiday season is our favorite time of year. As always, we hosted many events and activities to raise awareness and give back to our communities (both local and nationwide), and of course, to have a little fun!
Here’s a look at how we have spent the last few months of 2018!
OCTOBER
On Fridays, we wear pink! Throughout the whole month of October, we encouraged our employees to wear pink each Friday and donate to organizations that help fund breast cancer research and support to patients. It becomes a competition of sorts to see which of our locations can make the biggest pink wave!
While we only highlight awareness for one month, breast cancer affects countless women and families year-round, including some of our family here at TMC.
October is also Employee Ownership month, which is near and dear to the employees of TMC. This October was special, as we marked five years of TMC becoming an employee owned company. To commemorate the occasion, we highlighted one week in October to continue to educate and share all of the growth we have seen with our ESOP so far. This included testimonies from retired TMC employees and sweet treats around the offices to celebrate.
NOVEMBER
October had us seeing pink, but November got very HAIRY! No Shave November is a month for the guys where participants give up their regular shaving habits to raise men’s cancer awareness. All participants took before and after photos and at the end of the month, we voted on the best beard! This year’s top beard was Sam Solano from our IT Department in Des Moines!
We had a record number of participants this year, so TMC decided to donate $5 per hairy face to No-Shave.org to help aid cancer research, education and prevention. With 50 participants, we donated $250!
The most popular tradition during the season of giving is the annual TMC Food Drive! Taking place just before Thanksgiving, this event allows for some friendly competition throughout the company. Eight teams compete to win daily challenges and bring in the most “most needed” items by local food banks and homeless shelters.
At the end of the week, TMC collected 25,118 non-perishable food and wellness items!
For an added incentive to collect donations, the Customer Service and Operations departments in Des Moines held their own internal contest. Employees who donated the most money or items each day got to choose a VP or Manager to “Pie in the Face!”
DECEMBER
During the most magical time of the year, we shift our focus to the importance of family, giving back, and having fun! To start our holiday festivities, Santa made a visit to TMC driving his very own Black and Chrome TMC truck! Kids got to take a picture with Santa, make Christmas crafts, and enjoy some milk and cookies! While there were a few tears of overwhelming excitement, there were many more smiles!
Following the visit from the man in red, TMC started a new holiday tradition that we hope to continue in the future. We had our first annual volunteer week, titled “Delivering Help for the Holidays.” This was a week-long event where our employees could sign up for a number of charitable activities around the Des Moines area. We worked with local homeless shelters, held a blanket drive, visited an area animal shelter, and packaged meals to help feed underprivileged families worldwide. Employees also donated countless toys and adopted nine families through Adopt a Family.
Along with the spirit of giving, employees had the option to donate money to our annual Holiday Giving Raffles for a chance to win prizes such as a little extra holiday home time or some cold hard cash! The money raised from the raffles is given to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Joplin Children’s Haven. This year, we surpassed last year’s total and raised $5,125 combined for both of these great organizations.
Lastly, our annual “Ugly Christmas Sweater” day was held again this year. Employees broke out their most hideous, atrocious, and Grinch-iest garb to adorn the offices with cheer.
There is nothing like family during the holiday season, and being a part of the TMC family is a gift in its own. Thank you to our wonderful drivers and staff for making the season of giving the best yet. As we count down the days to December 25, we remember that at Christmas, all roads lead home.
Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!