Adults' Giving Program Submissions
December Submissions
As a global company, Wilbur-Ellis has a diverse group of employees who span the world. In fact, diversity and inclusion is one of the core values that has made the company what it is today. Everywhere we operate, our employees work hard – but we also enjoy our holidays!
December and January are big months for holidays. There’s Christmas, Hanukkah and (as the calendar turns) New Year’s Day. That’s followed by Lunar New Year, Easter, Ramadan and other holidays throughout the year. We also celebrate special days just for fun – like Valentine’s Day … Halloween … Super Bowl Sunday … the World Cup … and so on.
Whatever the occasion, we all have our own way of celebrating. With that in mind, the December & January Giving Program question for adults is:
“What are your favorite holidays (or special occasions) and how do you celebrate them?”
Bonus points for telling us about (and especially sharing photos of) special celebrations you’ve enjoyed in the past.
Jason Woulfin, United States
Food is one of my favorite things, so I like Thanksgiving by far the most. This one is all about food and family and even when we can't all get together like this year, we still manage to find a way to be in touch and then eat an enormous amount of food. A close second is actually Fourth of July. This one has a huge food element as well which I enjoy (can't beat BBQ), but it is also AMERICA! So, it is pretty awesome as well.
Jeanne Forbis, United States (Corporate)
When I think about favorite holidays, I remember Easter. At our house, Easter was almost like Christmas morning. My mother made Easter baskets an extravaganza. Those baskets were chocked full of chocolate bunnies, candy eggs, and other sweets – all decorated with big pastel bows and ribbons. And even when my brother and I were far beyond the “Easter bunny” stage, those beautiful baskets were part of every Easter morning.
Meredith Hubbell, United States (Agribusiness)
This year, the San Joaquin Manufacturing team was able to gift each of our manufacturing employee's kids a gift of their choosing. This year has been very difficult on everyone and we wanted to ensure we could add to their family celebrations.
Martin Bergman, United States (Agribusiness)
We love Thanksgiving. A time to celebrate the blessings of life with friends and family with great food.
Kathryn Nix, United States (Nutrition)
Christmas is my family's and my favorite holiday. Each year we do many traditional things such as bake Christmas cookies, watch our favorite Christmas movies, and go to the Nutcracker ballet. One of our most favorite traditions though is going to the Zoo Lights at the Portland Zoo. We go at least once a year. Walking through the zoo at night with it all lit up is magical. We even took the zoo train to look at the lights while it was snowing one year. Although this year is a bit different due to COVID-19, the zoo is offering a drive-thru experience and we are very excited to go! This year is extra special as our 11-month-old, who loves the Christmas lights, will be joining us!
Jose Castro, United States (Nutrition)
My family and I usually visit an orphanage on Christmas and give the kids a meal and gifts. Last year, we had Santa hand out the gifts and give the kids an extra joy for the holiday season.
Peggy Saling, United States (Nutrition)
Christmas and football seasons are my favorite. I put up a Christmas tree with all Kansas City Chiefs ornaments. The tree stays up until after the Super Bowl. My family has a different type of meal instead of turkey or ham. One year we had lasagna and salad. Thinking this year of having a taco bar.
Michelle Her, United States (Agribusiness)
Ever since I was a child, every year in December my parents took me to celebrate a festival called Hmong New Year. The Hmong New Year Festival in Fresno was the biggest celebration in North America which brought people from all over the country and overseas. I loved going to Hmong New Year because there was a variety of delicious homemade food to eat and I get to wear as well as see others wear their own designs of beautiful textile Hmong clothes embellished with shiny jewelry. Although there is no Hmong New Year due to COVID, my little family still dressed up to take some photos. This is us in modern Hmong Stripe clothing.
WE ARE ONE (HUNDRED)
As part of our 100th anniversary celebration, we launched the Giving Program to help people in need worldwide. In total, the Giving Program raised $52,000 USD for the Red Cross, building on the company’s $100,000 donation in 2020.