November is a season of gratitude and giving. It’s a time when people pause to consider what they have and how they can help others. At Senior Marketing Services, though, giving back isn't limited to one month or one holiday tradition. It's something the company has made part of its culture all year long.
Through its’ 12 Months of Giving program, Senior Marketing Services contributes throughout the year, with employees helping decide which organizations the company gets behind. Many begin with a personal connection: an employee who has been helped, a family member affected by a disease, or another issue someone believes deserves more attention.
For example, each November, employees participate in a Movember fundraiser benefiting Cancer Care. Men grow out their mustaches, while many women join in with fake ones. “Mustache Bingo” and “Pin the Mustache on the Face” add some friendly competition, and at the end of the month, employees pay to vote for the Movember King and Queen.
“We're never just asking for donations,” said Katlyn Drebenstedt, co-ambassador of 12 Months of Giving. “We always have to have some fun attached to it.”
It's fun. It's a little ridiculous. For SMS employee Clayton Clemons, it's also personal.
Clemons originally approached the company about raising money for Cancer Care after the organization supported him during his own battle. He was diagnosed with myeloma in 2017 and enjoyed more than five years without a recurrence before learning that his cancer had returned.
The fundraiser offered a way to turn a difficult personal experience into an opportunity to help someone else. Because most of the organizations they work with have had an impact on someone in their company, a workplace fundraiser becomes something much more meaningful than a collection jar.
“We wanted to be a company that gives back, number one, to our employees, to our agents, to our staff, and then to our community,” said JoAnn Wray, president of SMS.
Some organizations, including the American Red Cross, have become annual commitments as SMS has built relationships with them and seen the impact of their work. For SMS employee Amanda Mullenix, that connection is deeply personal. In 2009, Mullenix and her three daughters lost their home to a fire while they were away for Thanksgiving. The Red Cross replaced necessities in the weeks following the fire, easing some of the immediate burden during an overwhelming time. Mullenix has continued donating ever since.
That fundraiser has grown considerably since its first year in 2020, when 25 donations brought in a little more than $500. In recent years, the auction has had more than 100 donations, with last year’s auction raising more than $7,000. With additional fundraising throughout the year and the company’s matching contribution, SMS donated more than $20,000 last year. The company's contributions specifically support the Home Fire Campaign in Missouri, helping others recover after experiencing house fires.
“It was designed for all the right reasons, just from the goodness of our heart,” Wray said. “It's the kind of people we want to be. It's the kind of people we want to be around.”
“We're never just asking for donations. We always have to have some fun attached to it.”
“It was designed for all the right reasons, just from the goodness of our heart. It's the kind of people we want to be. It's the kind of people we want to be around.”