Employee Giving

Covid-19 Caring

Capital Area food bank sign

Dakota employees answered an urgent call from the Capital Area Food Bank this summer. As part of the Dakota Cares! campaign, corporate headquarters management collected non-perishable food items and monetary donations in mid-July. Pictured below, Dakota Vice President Lokesh Sayal (left) and Human Resources Director Lisa Clark-Hawkins dropped off the donations to grateful staff at the food bank’s collection site.

Lokesh Sayal and Lisa Clark-Hawkins in front of a pallet of donated food
 Lynette Hammond Gerido distributing lunches
Dakota employees display compassion, spontaneity, creativity during pandemic. Credit: Tori Lynn Schneider/Tallahassee Democrat

Dakota employees displayed corporate values spontaneously during the Coronavirus pandemic. Program Manager Lynette Hammond Gerido volunteered to hand out lunches for mothers teaching at home; Deputy Cybersecurity Program Manager Matthew Hoagberg went grocery shopping for elderly neighbors; and Human Resources Manager Lisa Clark-Hawkins used her nature photographs to create encouragement cards for family and friends. We cheer their random acts of kindness.

Black and white photo of birds

Let’s be thankful for our struggles because without them we may not have stumbled upon our strengths.

 

 

Bright Meals

dakota employees preparing meals
Dakota corporate office staff blends team-building with charity

Dakota corporate office staff blends team-building with charity. Senior staff participated in local program, Bright Meals, in which staff prepare and eat a meal with homeless and others in poverty. 

brite meals kitchen preparation   backpack drive backpack collection

 

2019 Annual Backpack and School Supply Drive

Operation Backpack is an annual drive for Dakota employees to donate backpacks and school supplies to students who are in need. Donations pour in from Dakota corporate, Denver, Colo. and Dayton, Ohio office employees every year.  

backpack drive supplies   backpack drive backpack collection
backpack drive supplies   backpack drive backpack collection

 

Operation Honeysuckle Destruction

Dakota Dayton staffers worked to conserve the beauty of the environment by donating time to a honeysuckle brush cleanup and flower planting community service project at Cox Arboretum in Dayton, Ohio. Project Manager Lee Davis (L) led the crew on Sept. 11th National Day of Community Service. 

Lee Davis leading honeysuckle cleanup   Dayton honeysuckle cleanup group

 

Marine Toys for Tots Program

During the holiday season, Dakota employees generously donate new toys for our annual Marine Toys for Tots Drive. Our headquarters in Silver Spring, Md., as well as our offices in Denver, Colo. and Dayton, Ohio, serve as donation drop-off sites for toys to be distributed at Christmas to local children whose parents cannot afford them. 

Dakota Employees with collected toys   Collected toys

 

A Day of Volunteerism at A Wider Circle

Dakota managers, including Vice President Lokesh Sayal, and staff took time out to proudly support A Wider Circle in early August 2019. The nonprofit agency is dedicated to eradicating poverty in the Washington area through on-the-ground programs and services, along with the development of large-scale solutions to its root causes.

Management and staff worked together in support of the organization’s Workforce Development program, which helps low-income residents transition from homelessness into housing and employment. Dakota’s team completed a range of tasks, such as sorting through houseware donations, moving furniture and home décor to restock the showroom floor, folding clothing donations, and organizing the children’s corner with toys and clothes.

Dakota Employees in front of A Wider Circle

Dakota team members volunteered at A Wider Circle in Silver Spring, Maryland. Pictured (L-R) Lokesh Sayal, Anne Hasselbrack, Nikki Lawrence, Mary Millholland, Felece Whitfield, Antoine Fillinger, Elizabeth Tenney, Reid Spearman, and Rakesh Gopal.

 

Elizabeth Tenney Elizabeth Tenney and Antoine Fillinger
Anne Hasselbrack and Nikki Lawrence

Pictured, clockwise: Elizabeth Tenney; Antoine Fillinger and Elizabeth; Donna Shaw; and Anne Hasselbrack and Nikki Lawrence.

Donna Shaw