“I feel like it’s opened my eyes to look for opportunities where I could help. My heart is always open to anyone that needs help.”
It isn’t a nonprofit program or a volunteer initiative that’s made Katie Faltermeier feel that way. It’s a work “benefit,” if you want to call it that, or something Lemonade Stand offers their employees every month.
Each month, every employee gets $50 to spend on people in their community. Diapers for someone at the store or a big tip for their server—Lemonade Stand employees are using this money to improve their community one interaction at a time.
Here are some of Katie’s favorite Build Then Bless moments!
“During COVID, we bought dinner for someone sitting by themselves. She was close to our age, but she was just sitting there, having dinner all by herself. She came over to our table and said that she was a nurse and she just came off of working almost 48 hours straight. It was a really emotionally taxing time for nurses and I think that small kindness shocked her. She said it meant the world to her and even though it was only $9 or something small like that, it showed her someone cared about her.”
“As a leader, I sometimes feel burdened by feeling like I’m always giving feedback and not celebrating wins enough. But with Build Then Bless, I can pick something really specific and make sure people know they’re appreciated. It balances the need for feedback and correction with a ton of love and recognition and we all need both.”
“I came from a corporation that just wrote out one of those big checks for charities. We never knew how we got that money or where it came from or where it was going. So when I came to Lemonade Stand and they said, ‘Here’s $50; use it to help someone,” I thought, “Is this real life? Really? Wow, they trust us to do this.’ And it was a huge mindset shift.”
Learn More About This “Real Life” Benefit
Let’s change corporate philanthropy and help people in their real lives with Build Then Bless. Learn more about it here or by scheduling a demo to see what the program would look like at your business.
