Land O’Lakes Rewards Employee Volunteers in 2007

ARDEN HILLS, Minn., Jan. 15 /PRNewswire/ — The rewards of volunteerism are in the doing, but organizations that benefit from the time and skills donated by Land O’Lakes, Inc. volunteers are thrilled to find that the giving doesn’t stop there.

The Land O’Lakes Foundation’s Dollars for Doers Program rewards and recognizes the community volunteerism of its employees and retirees. Through the program, non-profit organizations benefit twice: once from the volunteer’s contribution of time and again from a Land O’Lakes Foundation financial contribution. Employees and retirees tally their hours spent in service, and the national cooperative gives cash donations to the non-profit organizations those volunteers work with — based on the hours served with an annual maximum of $250 per volunteer.

In 2007, Land O’Lakes donated a total of $28,500 to 100 non-profit organizations where employees and retirees volunteered 17,434 hours. The organizations benefiting from the most Land O’Lakes volunteer hours were:

   1. Fort Snelling National Cemetery, St. Paul, Minn. A retiree donated      1,000 hours as a member of the volunteer rifle squad.   2. Barron County Ag Fair Society, Ridgeland, Wis. Volunteers donated 990      hours to 4H and dairy cattle programs.   3. Christian Ministry of Huntingburg, Huntingburg, Ind. Volunteers donated      480 hours to the foodshelf.   4. American Cancer Society. Volunteers spent 636 hours participating in      Relay for Life events nationwide.    

Through Land O’Lakes Foundation’s Matching Gifts to Education Program, the food and agriculture cooperative also gives directly to educational institutions and public broadcasting stations across the country. Contributions made by employees and owner-members to those institutions are matched dollar for dollar up to $1,000 per year, per employee.

Last year, 299 contributions were made by Land O’Lakes employees and member-owners, then matched by the Foundation’s Matching Gifts to Education program to total $173,458. Educational institutions received 95 percent of the donations and public broadcasting received 5 percent.

   The top four grantees, by number of donations were:   1. The University of Minnesota Foundation,   2. The University of Wisconsin Foundation,   3. The Purdue Foundation, and   4. The Iowa State University Foundation.    

The Land O’Lakes Foundation is committed to improving the quality of life in communities where Land O’Lakes Inc. has members, employees, plants and facilities. Land O’Lakes Foundation proactively helps rural communities prosper and prepare for tomorrow by donating resources that develop and strengthen organizations dedicated to human service, education and youth, civic and art endeavors.

Land O’Lakes, Inc.

CONTACT: Lydia Botham of Land O’Lakes, +1-651-481-2123

Web site: http://www.landolakes.com/