As we begin this new year, we reflect on our accomplishments of 2011. Capstone was fortunate to be able to provide financial support, educational materials, and volunteer time to many charitable organizations. We feel blessed to work with such inspiring charities whose work makes a difference for those in need. Some highlights from 2011 include:
National Giving Examples
- In honor of Capstone’s 20th anniversary, the Mayors of Mankato and North Mankato, Minnesota, declared June 23 as “Capstone Day.” On this special day, Capstone donated over 5,000 books to Bess the Book Bus, a mobile literacy outreach dedicated to reading to children, promoting literacy, and getting books in to the homes of underprivileged children and families. Check out our video from “Capstone Day!”
- Capstone donated $5,000 to the Tony Hawk Foundation, an organization that builds public skateparks in low-income areas. The skateparks provide local, at-risk youth an opportunity to participate in a fun, safe, and healthy activity.
- The Capstone Community Scholarships Program provided $40,000 in college scholarships to assist students majoring in preschool education, elementary education, library science, English language learners, or design.
- Capstone also assisted the children of its employees who plan to continue their education in college or vocational school programs with $3,000 scholarships to full-time college students at accredited institutions.
International Giving Examples
- In December, Capstone gifted 50,000 books to Books for Africa, the largest shipper of donated text and library books to the African continent. Books for Africa’s mission is to end the book famine in Africa.
- In June, Capstone donated approximately 700 books to Libraries of Love, an organization who partners with Africans to create libraries in individual schools. The libraries serve as bridges to a better future for the children.
Local Giving Examples in Minnesota
- Capstone donated almost 25,000 books to the Greater Mankato Area United Way “Books for Kids” Program, which instills the joy of reading in children by providing free books and parenting resources to families who live or work in the Mankato area. Children up to age five within a 30-mile radius of Mankato receive Capstone books every other month.
- The Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation (SMIF) and Capstone partnered for the seventh year for the BookStart program to promote early childhood literacy. The goal of our partnership is to ensure every child has a book of his or her own at home to read or be read to by family members. In 2011 Capstone donated 5,000 books for the program!
- Capstone presented Baby’s Space with a $27,500 grant to support their curriculum and special monthly Family Nights, and committed book donations and employee volunteer time. Baby’s Space is a nonprofit organization serving as a community center and safe haven for low-income families in Minneapolis. The center is also home to Tatanka Academy, Minnesota’s first public, year-around pre-K-3rd grade school devoted to reaching children in poverty.
- Through our Employee Volunteer Program, 90 Capstone employees donated over 300 hours of volunteer time! The program encourages employees to participate in a variety of volunteer opportunities in their communities, such as serving meals, working at an animal shelter or food shelf, planting gardens, raking yards, etc.
In addition to these donations, Capstone is proud to be part of the Minnesota Keystone Program, which recognizes employers who give at least 5% of pretax dollars to the community. Over the last year, this program has allowed us to assist more than 250 organizations with financial and organizational support, through donations and employee volunteering.
Giving back to the communities we serve is one of our core values at Capstone. We're passionate about fostering this generous spirit and look forward to our philanthropic giving in 2012!
Lisa Hanson, Director of Corporate Giving
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