“Can you come back next week?”

 

“You guys are killing it!”

 

“We love working with folks from Hoosier Energy.”

 

These are just a sampling of the responses from organizations during Hoosier Energy’s second annual Community Impact Week, which was a little bigger and a little better than the first.

 

Officially taking place from April 15-19, 2024, and wrapping up with Employee Appreciation Day at Brown County State Park, there was an 11 percent increase in participation.

 

That number might’ve been higher but for the efficiency of Hoosier Energy employees during the Backpack Buddies event that kicked off the week on Monday. The event was officially scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. with set up to begin at 7:30. So many employees arrived early to help with set up that actual packing began early and the job was finished by 9 a.m., even as some employees just arrived to join the project.

 

In all, a total of 500 bags of food were packed for low-income children through the Monroe County Community Kitchen, an increase of 20 percent over last year. Also, several employees stuck around to help flip the room in preparation for a midday Lunch and Learn event.

 

 

Tuesday saw the first Community Impact Week Event in Owen County, as a handful of Hoosier Energy employees helped pack approximately four pallets (160 boxes) of food, which were loaded along with other items on Wednesday. Volunteers also helped sort food in bins, broke down cardboard boxes for recycling and filled bags with applesauce and baby food.

 

On Wednesday, an eight-person team packed boxes for the Hoosier Hills Food Bank and their mobile pantry, which delivers to some of the most marginalized and needy in the community. The team packed 241 boxes this year, surpassing the mark of 210 set last year.

 

On Thursday, Hoosier Energy employees participated in a build with Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County, putting siding on a house alongside a Habitat team and one of the homeowners.

 

In addition, numerous employees chose opportunities on their own, such as Chief Administrative Officer Chris Blunk participating in Top Chefs 2024, a fundraiser for the Terre Haute Children’s Museum.

 

Some Hoosier Energy employees also utilized a link provided by the American Red Cross to schedule a time and location to donate blood.

 

Over the course of the week at both the Hoosier Energy Power Delivery Operations Center in Spencer and at Headquarters in Bloomington, employees raced to Fill the Truck. Bags were stacked with food items, baby items, cleaning supplies and personal hygiene items with contributions given to Monroe County United Ministries and the Salvation Army.