Spirit of Volunteerism
When it comes to giving, the buck doesn’t stop at mere dollars. We give of our food, our money and ourselves. There is no formal structure of volunteers at CROPP. Teams simply come together around a need. Someone takes the initiative to get people together for a purpose and the action begins, whether it’s cleaning up the local highway, helping neighboring communities stricken by tornadoes, floods, or fire, or making up the labor force for our annual Kickapoo Country Fair, CROPP employees give generously of their time, talent, expertise, and plain old muscle.
Organic Valley sales manager and La Farge Lions member Steve Brandl parking cars at the Kickapoo Country Fair.
Our Sustainable Path: Employees
Wellness
The Organic Valley Wellness program takes a holistic approach to the human condition, focusing on employees’ emotional, intellectual, physical, occupational, spiritual, and social well-being.
Too often our health care system is geared to intervene only after health problems arise, so our Wellness program is focused on prevention. We partner with Vernon Memorial Healthcare in nearby Viroqua to build a customized and flexible arrangement that brings medical professionals to all our regional facilities. Organic Valley employees take advantage of regular, on-site screenings for diabetes, heart, colon, and breast health, as well as informational lunch-and-learns and smoking cessation groups.
Good mental health is as important to overall health as are clean arteries and lungs. The Employee Assistance Program gives the staff access to mental health therapists anyone can talk to in complete confidentiality to help deal with the stresses of their personal and working lives.
An intellectually well person is a creative, curious, critical thinker who is motivated to master new skills, whether on the job or on her own. Education and evaluation is available across the board, from information technology and communication, to personal perspectives awareness. We also provide Mission Education that deepens knowledge of the organic philosophy of life.
Organic Valley recognizes that the wellness of its employees translates to a happier, healthier, and more productive workplace. That translates to a low turnover rate and savings for the Co-op, because it costs much more to train new employees than to retain experienced, dedicated people.
Rideshare/Vanpool
In 2008 we created a Rideshare database and vanpool operation for the nearby cities of Viroqua (17 miles) and La Crosse (43 miles). Approximately 31% of our employees participated in rideshare and/or vanpooling in the past year. This affects our employees’ triple bottom line by lowering their carbon footprint (ecological), engaging them with fellow employees (social/cultural) and, of course, saving them money (economic).
Steps to Sustainability
introduction
on the farm
humane animal treatment
operations
water stewardship
employees
partnerships
giving
sustainable trade
Excerpted from the Organic Valley/ CROPP Cooperative 2008 Annual Report.
