Adults' Giving Program Submissions
January 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.
Adrielle Yeow, Malaysia (Connell)
There are so many special occasions in my life and if I were to pick one of them, it is the day I gave birth to my daughter on 2nd June 2015. She is a prayer come true for my husband and I as we sought for medical help after six years of marriage, but unable to conceive. She is an IVF baby and so being able to carry her for nine-months and successfully give birth to her naturally is a miracle and prayers answered. I truly thank God for technology and wisdom in mankind in the area of reproduction that helps couples to have babies. Every year, we celebrate her birthday no matter how big or small scale it is because we want to remember her being a gift from God to us. We invited our families and close friends to share our joy. This year she will be six years old and she is already telling me what kind of cake and gift she wishes to have.
Gina Colfer, United States (Agribusiness)
My favorite holiday is New Year’s Day. I love it because it always marks a new beginning to a new year and we always celebrate with our family on top of our mountain property in the Santa Cruz mountains. This year we celebrated within the burn scar of the CZU Lightning Complex fire. There are new beginnings all around with new growth of madrone, tan oak and manzanita and most special, our granddaughter enjoying her morning hot chocolate with the view of the Waddell watershed and Pacific Ocean. Here's to a New Year and new beginnings.
Tracy Genest, Canada (Nutrition)
From the picture you can see that my family is quite large (we are still missing 10 people from this photo), so Christmas is hard for all of us to get together. However, we found the solution by celebrating Christmas in July. Every year we pick a spot to camp and for 4 days we play a bunch of games, do a lot of water sports, many, many boat rides and best of all tons of laughter and love. Needless to say our mom is in her glory. This picture we are celebrating our CFL Team, the Saskatchewan Roughriders and Mom is in the middle in the white jersey.
Daniel Rickert, United States (Agribusiness)
My favorite time of the year is a toss up of early spring and mid-fall. The time of year where I can be outdoors and enjoy what nature has to offer.
Tze Ying Goh, Singapore (Connell)
Christmas is one of my favorite holidays in the year. Typically, we will go on a holiday trip overseas with either family or friends in December during the Christmas season. We love a White Christmas. The picture shared is one of my best holidays spent with friends. We love the snowcapped pine trees and enjoy making snow angels.
Venkatesh Murthy, India (Connell)
Special occasions in my life are stated below. 1. March 11: My eldest son’s birthday, who gave me a ray of hope in life 2. March 30: My 2nd son’s birthday, who gave me a road to happiness in life 3. May 12: My marriage anniversary, it made me accept the real challenges in life 4. Oct 10: My wife’s birthday (nowadays I call her my eldest daughter as she has become like a child like my 2 sons - simply joking). 5. March 16: My mom’s birthday I don’t always celebrate my birthday on the 30th of July because I like being the family head and want to keep my family happy and I wish to not to spend for myself until my sons achieve their goals. I take them to a new place every year on their birthdays, we cook food they like, and celebrate with a cake cutting at 7pm followed by a dinner in a hotel. We like being in an economy family and to celebrate in a small and happy mode.
Kenneta Kraemer, United States (Agribusiness)
My favorite holiday by far has always been Christmas. I know people think it is all about "Christmas presents" and presents are GREAT! However, this year I made it all about "Being Present". You see being "Present" at the "Nebraska Veterans Cemetery" for the "Wreaths Across America Ceremony" and volunteering and being able to be a part of this event was by far the best present I could have possibly been given or received! The laying of remembrance wreaths on the graves of our country's fallen heroes and the act of saying the name of each and every veteran out loud made this Christmas one that I will never forget. It made me realize how important it is to give than to receive this year more than ever! I will forever be grateful to these brave women and men who have served our country. My love and best to all this Holiday season.
Holly Hambruch, United States (Agribusiness)
My favorite holiday has always been Christmas, it was magical as a child and I hope that I made it magical for my children when they were young. One thing I have always done during the Christmas season is to bake a ton of cookies and treats to pass out to friends and neighbors. This is something my mom did and I have carried on. I am sure that at least one of my children will continue this tradition. Since our kids are grown and just don't need much, we decided to adopt a local family in need this year. It was fun shopping for clothes and toys for the two young girls and groceries for their family. The best part was delivering it all to the mom and seeing the look of disbelief on her face and tears of gratitude in her eyes. Hoping to expand on this next Christmas and maybe pick two families.
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.