Cargill Cares Alumni |
Click on links below to read the newsletter articles. ....Or click on Spring 2024 Newsletter to view the full document. The Annual Cargill Cares Alumni Meeting Will be held at the Cargill Office Center the morning of Wednesday, May 22. Click to read the Feature article President's Corner: The Annual Meeting will be a terrific opportunity to catch up with some of your prior co-workers. We will hear Cargill business and Cargill Foundation updates from senior Cargill leaders. Click to read more from Phil ____________________________________________ It has been a busy winter for Volunteer Activities:
______________________________ Do you want to spend time with fellow CCA members? We have that.And Invite a Friend! More Education seminars on the menu- see sidebar -->____________________________________________________________ Share the CCA Experience -- Ask a Friend to Get Involved Want to view past Newsletter? Click here - members will be asked to login. |  Upcoming Events:. Click link for more info on upcoming 2024 Social Events Click Volunteer Projects for info on CCA activities. View upcoming education - Cargill/Vanguard Financial Wellness webinars for 2024. Medicare Seminar: Go to the Past Education Seminars to view the October information session on Medicare and Via Benefits. |
The CCA newsletter is published quarterly in spring, summer, fall and winter. It is distributed to Cargill retirees and
other alumni, as well as Cargill senior leadership. If you have articles to share, stories of volunteer activities or other items of interest, please send them directly to Barb Kula at b.l.kula@comcast.net.
Contact the CCA office at cargillcaresalumni11@gmail.com or leave a message at 952-742-6188.
Spring Plans Abound Return to top
By Barb Kula
Leo Tolstoy said, “Spring is the time of plans and projects” and CCA has geared up to deliver on both of those! Winter, such as it was, is headed for the finish line. Spring is around the corner. Our calendar is full of events and activities for CCA members to engage in and enjoy this spring and summer. What is coming up?
The Annual Cargill Cares Alumni Meeting will be held at the Cargill Office Center the morning of Wednesday, May 22. Ruth Kimmelshue, who leads Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health, will deliver the Cargill business update. In addition, Colleen May, Chair of The Cargill Foundation, will share the latest news about the foundation and the work it supports. Enjoy social time with fellow CCA members, as well as celebrating recognition for outstanding CCA volunteers. Details and registration will be sent April 1. Plan to attend!
Please take a bit of time to explore the other opportunities in this newsletter.
Are you interested in volunteering? We have that. You can focus on helping community food needs, building houses, packing a student backpack, furnishing a house or coaching a kid.
How about spending time with fellow CCA members? We have that. We can take you on a cruise, help you explore local breweries with work pals, socialize over dinner and a show, and take you out to the ballgame.
Ready to learn about financial wellness? We have that. Monthly Vanguard webinars offer instruction on money matters.
Read about all the opportunities for doing good work, having fun and learning. And watch for details and registrations for all our events in the CCA Weekly Announcements.
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Are you interested in volunteering? We have that. Explore the following opportunities.
Watch Cargill’s New Video on Community Volunteering
Cargill has a new three-minute video; “Together for Community” that tells its story on community involvement. Just click the link to view it.
As stated on Cargill’s website: “Through more than 350 Cargill Cares Councils, our employees around the world contribute millions of dollars and lend more than 100,000 hours of their time and talent to volunteer activities that have a local impact.”
Get On Board!
Cargill Cares Alumni is recruiting new board members for the 2024-25 year. The Board works to ensure CCA members have access to volunteer activities, learning opportunities and social events that fit their interests. If you are interested in joining the CCA Board of Directors, please contact Phil Deeney at philldeeney@comast.net.
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Pack Food from Local Farms for The Good Acre Return to top By Jan Weisberg
Here is an activity that tastes good and does good. CCA will offer five food share packing volunteer events with The Good Acre (TGA), Minnesota’s largest food hub. Its 2024 Farm Share program kicks off in June, providing consumers, regardless of their income, access to a wide variety of healthy, seasonal produce from a broad network of local, culturally diverse farmers.
Last year the Food Share Program purchased over $250,000 in produce from small, local farmers and food producers and connected 600 families to the locally grown food. To learn more about TGA, go to https://thegoodacre.org/
CCA’s volunteer events with TGA will be on the third Tuesday of each month, starting in June, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the TGA facility in Falcon Heights. Watch weekly announcements for dates. If you have questions, contact me at janiceweisberg01@gmail.com Return to Top _________________________________ Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity will Host the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Work Project this Fall
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To learn more about Open Arms, click here. If you are interested in the above activities, please send me an email at janiceweisberg01@gmail. Once we hear from you, we’ll determine what, if any, events we will plan for the spring, summer and fall. Thanks in advance for your help!
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Partnership Will Provide New Hunger-Relief Services In March 2024, The Food Group - one of CCA’s volunteer organizations - will be joining forces with Hunger Solutions Minnesota. As a branch of The Food Group (TFG), Hunger Solutions will be offering the additional hunger-relief services described in the following links: Minnesota Food HelpLine, Market Bucks, Food Shelf Capacity. The partnership also will enhance statewide food shelf data collection, reporting on hunger trends and food security advocacy efforts.
Come join CCA and TFG’s efforts to fight food insecurity on the first Wednesday of every month, from 9 to 11 a.m., at TFG’s New Hope site.
| Downsizing? Return to top Bridging can help needy people while helping you clear your house. Many of us are downsizing these days. Consider donating your extra furniture, linens, kitchen and bath essentials, small appliances and electronics, mirrors, artwork and pictures to Bridging. Click here to see Acceptable Household Stuff to Give | Bridging.
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| Outlook Upbeat at Prodeo By David Braden
While our monthly work with Prodeo Academy was suspended during COVID, the school moved into two new locations. We were able to return in the summer of 2023, and CCA members helped paint the interior of one school and helped students with high school applications at their new Columbia Heights campus.
See photos of the new Columbia Heights facility at Prodeo Academy - DSGW Barbara Luke and Bob Bridges are old hands at Prodeo. We anticipate new opportunities to use and grow our own talents as we support the astounding progress of these otherwise underserved students. It may be anything from physical work such as painting, sorting teaching materials, or constructing bulletin boards, to helping their placement staff in academic efforts. We would love to welcome more CCA members to our team! If you would like more information, please contact me at dbbraden@gmail.com |
with BestPrep
Interested in mentoring a high school student virtually this spring? Volunteer with Cargill Foundation partner BestPrep.
Volunteers correspond with students once a week, for eight weeks, discussing career skills and the workplace. Mentors help students realize how concepts discussed in class connect to the world by sharing their own experiences. Students are given discussion topics for each week's email, so these guidelines help focus the conversation. During the eight weeks, mentors and students meet once for one in-person event at Cargill on Wednesday, May 1.
Interested in volunteering? Contact J.B. Scherpelz at jb_scherpelz@cargill.com |
Dinner Dates and You Return to top
Check out the upcoming events that involve food along with fun activities.
On April 17, join us for “Beautiful – The Carole King Musical” at The Chanhassen Dinner Theater. Registrations are due by March 23, for the lunch and matinee performance. Click here for more details and to register.
In August, sail with us on an August dinner and boat ride; and we are looking for another dinner/theater option for the fall. Details to be announced soon.
Brad and Tracy Newell at The Chan.
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Brewing up Connections
Early Start to CCA Golf Season? Return to Top
Great news this year: tradition has it that when Punxsutawney Phil rises from his burrow and sees his shadow on February 2, an early spring follows in six weeks. Early spring means CCA Golf is likely to start early.
Keep posted on CCA weekly announcements and the CCA website for golf season announcements. Joe Fournier will be sending the season schedule, so keep your eyes peeled and start practicing.
If you have not played golf with the CCA League, contact Joe to make sure you are on the invite list. All members of CCA are eligible. Rounds are scheduled for every Thursday, starting at 10 a.m. It is a wonderful way to reconnect with those you knew while working for Cargill, and an even better way to make new friends. If you have any questions or want to sign up, please contact Joe Fournier (fournier_joe@hotmail.com ) or Wayne Koester (wrkoester@msn.com ). Happy Golfing!
By John Keefe
With spring training well underway, baseball season is just around the corner. Join us this summer for a game or two!
· Minnesota Twins vs. Tampa Bay Rays – Wednesday, June 19, game time 6:40 p.m., ticket cost of $34 due by May 22, handicap seating available. Come early for a tour of Target Field. Twins curator Clyde Doepner will once again be offering stories of Twins history and a tour of the stadium. For full details of the tour and game registration, click here: Twins Registration.
St. Paul Saints vs. Omaha Storm Chasers – Tuesday, July 23, at 7:07 p.m., tickets are $25.50. It will be a full evening of baseball and fun (love that pig). Registration will be on the Saints portal. Click on Saints game for more details and to register.
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Ask a Friend to Get Involved Return to top
To go to the CCA website, click here or google “Cargill Cares Alumni.” Login, go to the menu item “Member Access” and the click on Membership Directory. _________________________________ Want more info on Cargill and Foundation activities? Useful links:
Cargill HomePage Cargill in the news: Press Releases Find out about Cargill Foundation mission and programs |
